A.L. Taylor passed away on March 11, 1988 at Shands Hospital in Gainesville, Florida.  Al was born in Florence, Colorado, and spent his early years as a printer. His interest it archery indirectly led to meeting the late Gerald Thorne who also had a similar interest. It was through this and subsequent meetings that Al developed his lifetime career in nematology.

        Al attended George Washington University, from which he was graduated in 1935. He established the fourth nematology field laboratory for the United State Department of Agriculture at Tifton, Georgia, in July 1935. There, in association with C. W. McBesh, he made man outstanding contributions in the areas of nematode taxonomy, host interactions, and control. His pioneering work on chemical control of nematodes provided the basis for establishing agricultural nematology as a recognized discipline. From October 1946 to Novembe 1949 he was employed as a technologist by the Shell Chemical Corporation to develop the use of DD in the eastern United States. In December 1949, he returned to the USDA as a senior nematologist. He was appointed Head of the Nematology Section on May 1, 1956. He remained in this supervisory and leadership position until March 1964, at which time he accepted an appointment with the Food and Agricultural Organization of the Unite Nations. While with FAO, he conducted nematode survey; established nematology laboratories, and initiate research programs in Cyprus and Thailand. He returned to th USDA in March 1966 to take up a new research assignment at the United States Horticultural Research Laboratory at Orlando, Florida. He retired from the USD on September 29. 1967, after nearly 30 years of Federeral service
Al immediately took up a new assignment with FAO in Fiji, where he conducted research until 1968. In mid-1968 he returned to Bangkok, Thailand, as Project Manager of the Rice Protection and Plant Protection Projects. He returned to Gainesville, Florida in July, 1972

Al's nematological career was far from over as in November, 1972, he accepted a position as Chief of the Bureau of Nematology at the Division of Plant Industry, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. He remained in that position until December 30, 1975. From 1976 - 1983, A1 was closely associated with Dr. Joe Sasser as a consultant in the International Meloidogyne Project during part of each year. The remainder of the year he spent studying and working with graduate students and staff in the Department of Entomology and Nematology at the University of Florida in Gainesville. Since 1983, Al had been devoting his energies towards studying root-knot nematodes at the Bureau of Nema-tology, Division of Plant Industry, in Gainesville. He continued to maintain a close association with faculty and students at the University of Florida. Al was active right up until his death. His recent publication "Identification and Estimation of Root-Knot Nematode Species in Mixed Populations", published in late 1987, is a testimonial to Al's devotion to the science of nematology. He published more than 90 scientific publications dealing with a wide variety of subjects.

Al's many other contributions are well known to his colleagues, from whom he received international acclaim over the years. Al was a man of action and a pragmatic scientist. During his more than 50-year career in nematology he and Josephine, his wife of nearly 60 years, traveled widely, making friends wherever they went. In his quiet, unassuming manner, Al was truly a goodwill ambassador for nematology.
Al was a Charter Member and an Honorary Member of the Society of Nematologists.