NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1971 SESSION

RESOLUTION 76

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 1131

A JOINT RESOLUTION HONORING THE LATE ARCHIBALD ROBINSON TAYLOR.

Whereas, the State of North Carolina has suffered a great loss in the untimely death of Archibald Robinson Taylor on the 30th day of April, 1971; and

Whereas, he was born in Buies Creek, Harnett County, North Carolina on the 20th day of February 1914, to the late Judge Floyd H. Taylor and his wife, Cornelia Stewart Taylor; and

Whereas, Mr. Taylor was educated in the public schools of his county and Buies Creek Academy, now Campbell College, and completed his legal education at Wake Forest Law School; and

Whereas, he answered the call of his country in World War II and was twice wounded in combat and awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star for his great courage and bravery; and

Whereas, for many years he was a leader in the Democratic Party, serving as Chairman of its Executive Committee and in other capacities and was most active all his life in seeking the success of its nominees at every election; and

Whereas, Mr. Taylor received his license to practice law on April 3, 1951, and for almost 20 years he was actively engaged in the practice of his profession and was recognized throughout this State as one of the finest trial lawyers at the Bar; and for many years he and the present Attorney General of North Carolina, the Honorable Robert Morgan, were partners in one of the outstanding law firms in North Carolina and participated in many of the famous trials and cases heard in the courts during the past decades; and

Whereas, Mr. Taylor, while still a young man, served as Sergeant-at-Arms of the Senate in the 1951 Session of the General Assembly of this State, becoming widely known throughout the State as a most competent and accommodating public official; and

Whereas, at the urging of many of his friends and fellow lawyers in Chatham, Lee, Harnett, Johnston and Wayne Counties in 1958, Mr. Taylor became a candidate for the office of Solicitor of the then Fourth Judicial and was nominated and elected to that office by a great majority, taking the oath of office the first of January, 1959, and served for 12 years as Solicitor, rendering great service to the people of his District and State until January 1, 1971; and

Whereas, he was a member of the Lillington United Methodist Church and for years a valuable teacher of one of its Adult Classes;

Now, therefore, be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring:

Section 1.  That the General Assembly expresses its gratitude for the life and career of Archibald Robinson Taylor and does by this resolution declare in his passing that the County of Harnett and the State of North Carolina have lost an able, beloved, dedicated and devoted citizen and public servant.

Sec. 2.  That the General Assembly extends its deepest sympathy to members of his family and that a copy of this resolution be duly certified by the Secretary of State and transmitted to Mrs. Ruth Edna Taylor, his wife, and to his son and namesake Archibald Robinson Taylor, Jr., as a memorial of the devotion and respect held by members of this General Assembly for Archie Taylor.

Sec. 3.  This resolution shall become effective upon ratification.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 1st day of June, 1971.