VALLEY FORGE, PA (ABNS 3/19/20)—The Rev. Kyle Edward Weeks Taylor, 62, of Muskogee, Okla., died March 13, surrounded by family in Tulsa, Okla. He was married for 32 years to Marcia Luann Taylor.

Taylor pastored All Tribes Community Church, Tulsa, Okla., and Bacone Baptist Church, Muskogee—both part of American Baptist Home Mission Societies’ (ABHMS) Native American Ministries. A loyal friend to ABHMS and a dedicated American Baptist, Taylor had presented ABHMS Executive Director Dr. Jeffrey Haggray with a Pendleton blanket and “adopted” ABHMS into the Pawnee family.

Taylor also taught for 15 years at Bacone College, Muskogee, where he was chair of the Division of Indigenous Online Teaching and Learning, and assistant professor of Leadership. He taught Leadership, American Indian Studies and Christian Ministry classes.

Born Dec. 2, 1957, in San Francisco, he was a son of Roy Weeks of Tulsa and the late Laura (Wilson) Taylor. An enrolled member of the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma, he was a direct descendant of Chief White Eagle, the last hereditary chief of that nation. He was also a descendent of the Choctaw and Cheyenne tribes. He loved Pawnee tradition, and participated in Native American cultural and community events.

Taylor was close to earning a doctorate degree at Grand Canyon University, Phoenix. He had earned a master’s degree of Science and Leadership at Southwestern College, Winfield, Kan., and a bachelor’s degree at Bacone College. A lifelong learner, he attended the College of San Mateo, Calif.; San Francisco State; and the University of Oklahoma, where he was a past president of the American Indian Student Association.

Survivors: Wife; father; sons, Kyle Samuel Isaac Taylor Jr. (wife Jana) of Muskogee, Stephen James Taylor of Muskogee, Christopher Paul Taylor of Muskogee, and John Zachery Weeks Taylor of Muskogee; grandchildren, Kyle “KT3” Taylor and Alexander Taylor; brother, Roy Taylor Jr. (wife Catherine) of Minneapolis; sisters, Beverly Ann Harjo (husband Dr. Jim B. Harjo) of Tulsa, Carlotta Harjo Nowell, Jo Harjo and Mary Lou Toahty-Stevens; aunts; nieces; nephews; and mother-in-law.

Visitation was held March 16 at Heath-Griffith Funeral Home. On March 17, a celebration of life service was held in Bacone College Memorial Chapel and a wake service was held at the Roam Chief Building, Pawnee, Okla. A funeral service was held March 18, also at the Roam Chief Building. Internment followed in the North Indian Cemetery, Pawnee.

Expressions of sympathy for the Taylor family may be left by visiting www.heathgriffithfuneralhome.com.

American Baptist Home Mission Societies partners with American Baptists to promote Christian faith, cultivate Christ-centered leaders and disciples, and bring healing and transformation to communities across the United States and Puerto Rico.

American Baptist Churches is one of the most diverse Christian denominations today, with over 5,200 local congregations comprised of 1.3 million members, across the United States and Puerto Rico, all engaged in God’s mission around the world.