Ret. Gen. Chester Taylor Jr. ’52 Dies at 90

Retired Brigadier General (USAF) Chester David Taylor Jr. ’52 passed away last month.

General Taylor was born on May 21, 1928 in South St. Paul, Minnesota, and graduated from that high school. He attended the University of Minnesota for both undergraduate and law school. After graduating law school in 1952, he was then commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force JAG Corps. He was on active duty from 1952 to 1981.

He spent tours of duty in both Germany and the Philippine Islands. In the Philippines his office was responsible for the legal affairs of all American citizens living in the Islands. Upon returning to the United States, he obtained an MBA from Indiana University.

He served at a military legal post in Ohio and Illinois, and later moved with his family to California, where he designed and developed the “POW/MIA Relief Act of 1972,” signed into legislation by Ronald Reagan.

As a Brigadier General he was Staff Judge Advocate for the Air Force Systems Command, responsible for the legal support of AF research, development, and other legal activities worldwide. Upon retiring from the USAF in 1981 he joined the law firm of Hogan and Hartson in Washington, D.C., where he practiced law in government contracts.

He retired in Virginia, where he was active in numerous civic groups, volunteer activities, and engaged in farming.

For more, see his obituary in the Page News & Courier.