Raleigh – North Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Wayne Goodwin released the following statement after former Lieutenant Governor Hoyt Patrick Taylor Jr., passed away over the weekend.
Pat Taylor served as the 26th Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina from 1968–1972 and the Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives from 1965–1966.
“North Carolina lost a dedicated, lifelong public servant this weekend with the passing of Pat Taylor. Though he often called himself ‘just another country lawyer,’ Pat was a fixture in North Carolina politics who was unafraid to stand up for his beliefs. He was also an avid Anson County storyteller and a friend of rural North Carolina. I join Democrats across the state in celebrating his life, his passion, and his service to our state.”
Born in Wadesboro, Anson County, NC, Taylor was the son of Hoyt Patrick Taylor, Sr. who himself served as Lieutenant Governor.
It is interesting to note that the Taylors are the only father-son pair to have held the office in North Carolina, and possibly the nation, and also that they served under a father-son pair of governors: Taylor Sr. under Kerr Scott (1949 – 1953) and Taylor Jr. under Bob Scott (1969 – 1973).
The younger Taylor received a bachelor’s degree and law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, served in the Marine Corps in both WWII and Korea, and practiced law in Wadesboro before entering politics.
Elected to the NC State House in 1955 from Anson County, Taylor served in that capacity through 1967 (the last two years as speaker) before being elected Lieutenant Governor under Governor Bob Scott.
Taylor suffered from dementia in his later years and died in Wadesboro at the age of 94.
