David Edward Taylor, 86, passed away January 12,2023, in Flagstaff.  David was born in Phoenix on October 30, 1936, to Harness Ellis Taylor and Esta Pogue Taylor.

When David was asked how he wanted to be remembered, he said, "As an aviator." He logged 20,300 hours of flight time, which equates to more than two years of 24-hour days spent in the sky.  He began watching the crop dusters over Chandler, Arizona, as a youngster. At age 12 he took his first airplane ride in a Stearman PT-13 plane piloted by Dan Francis, then the mayor of Chandler, Arizona; David was seated in his dad's lap.

By the age of 20, David was working out of Chandler Airport for Lazy Eight Flying Service; his duties included crop dusting, spraying, seeding, and fertilizing.  David's only crash happened May 5, 1958.  He was spraying insecticide over the desert near Queen Creek when his single-engine Piper Super Cub clipped a power line and crashed.  He spent the next 58 days in the hospital recovering from third-degree burns.  A friend of David's, Jerry Patrick, would come visit and bring Jerry's girlfriend, Patsy Lister.  Turns out, Patsy lived very near the hospital, and it wasn't long before Patsy would be visiting David on her own.  In 1960 the two married, and Patsy was Mrs. David Taylor for the next 53 years.

From 1960-1962 David served as charter pilot and flight instructor at Sun Valley Air Service, which was based out of Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix.

In 1963 David was hired to create the flight department for Arizona's state police force, then known as the Highway Patrol and today as the Department of Public Safety (DPS).  He was offered the position as a civilian or sworn officer and chose the latter. As chief pilot for the department based at Sky Harbor, his passengers included six Arizona governors: Paul Fannon, Samuel Goddard Jr., Jack Williams, Raul Castro, Wesley Bolin, Bruce Babbitt, and Rose Mofford, along with their families and many other dignitaries.  Some fun stories came out of the 20 years that David flew for DPS.  In a 1982 article in The Arizona Republic, David recounted a near-crash over Chandler when he was flying Gov. Goddard from Tucson to Sky Harbor: "I saw [the other plane] suddenly in my windshield, and I banked to the right.  [The other pilot] did the same thing. Gov. Goddard was in the back and couldn't see anything because the window was so small.  He said, 'I think we just did a roll.' I told him it was more like 60 degrees."

After David's retirement from DPS in 1983, he continued to pilot domestic and international flights for private and corporate clients.  Through his work as chief pilot for Knoell Brothers Construction Company, he had the opportunity to pilot Mother Teresa on a flight related to her 1989 visit to Phoenix. He subsequently flew part time for Cutter Aviation out of Sky Harbor and Ed King Jr. out of Scottsdale Airport until May 1991, when he assumed the role of company pilot for Peabody Western Coal Company.  He flew out of the company's Flagstaff hangar until his 2001 retirement.

David reflected on his aviation career during a 2006 oral history in the collections of Special Collections and Archives at Northern Arizona University's Cline Library: https://bit.ly/taylor2006 . In the oral history he mentions his childhood friend Pat Murphree, with whom he shared a lifelong passion for aviation.

David and Pat lived in Tempe, Gilbert, and Flagstaff before retiring to Tonto Basin, where they enjoyed boating on Roosevelt Lake; hosting neighbors, family, and friends for gatherings; following the Diamondbacks; exploring back roads and spending time with their dogs Peaches and Iko. After Pat's passing in 2013 David remained in Tonto Basin for several years before relocating to Flagstaff.

David is survived by his children Dawn (Rob) Begley, Krinda (Todd) Power, James (Ronda) Taylor, and Mike (Laura) Taylor; grandchildren Racquel, Taylor, Jacob, Ari, Catherine, Chelsea, Christi, Desiree, Josh, Kendra, and Mike; and Racquel's son Ricky and other great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his sisters Marilyn Felix, Carolyn Shelly, and Jean Bridges; he was preceded in death by his brothers Tom, Allen, and Stan Taylor.

The family plans to gather at Quantum Helicopters (2401 S. Heliport Way, Chandler) on Feb. 19, 2023, at 1 p.m. to celebrate David's life and legacy. All are welcome. For questions or directions, please call David's daughter, Dawn Begley, at (928) 606-9752 as Quantum will be closed for business that day.

In lieu of flowers, those who wish to honor David are encouraged to make a donation to Tonto Basin Student Council, P.O. Box 337, Tonto Basin, AZ 85553.