Obituary – Dr. Charles Wallace Taylor

Published 12:01 pm Thursday, June 6, 2019

Dr. Charles Wallace Taylor, 90, retired Professor of Accountancy at the University of Mississippi, died June 5, 2019, at Baptist Memorial Hospital-North Mississippi in Oxford.  The memorial service will be Friday, June 7, 2019, at 3 p.m. at Waller Funeral Home in Oxford, Mississippi, with Dr. Robert Allen officiating.  A private interment will follow. Visitation will be prior to the service beginning at 1 p.m. at the funeral home.

 Born on April 6, 1929, in Corinth, Mississippi to the late Lyle Edward Taylor and Mary Garrett Taylor, Charles and his wife Nelda began dating as sophomores at Corinth High School, graduating together in 1947.  He first attended Hinds Junior College in Raymond.  Charles and Nelda were then married in August, 1951, but he was immediately deployed to serve with the U.S. Air Force in Korea.  Upon his return in September, 1952, they moved to Oxford to both finish college at Ole Miss, making several lifelong couple friends in married student housing, which was affectionately known as “Vets Village”.  Completing his M.B.A. with an emphasis in accountancy in 1955, he next moved to Houston, Texas, where he practiced public accounting with Arthur Andersen. Charles returned to Ole Miss in 1957 to teach accounting, and then moved to Austin, Texas, in 1959 where he taught at The University of Texas at Austin.  He also earned his doctorate in accountancy from The University of Texas, as well as a lifelong affinity for the Longhorns which was second only to Ole Miss.

 Returning to Oxford and Ole Miss in 1965, Charles served the University as a Professor of Accountancy in the School of Business and as the Accountancy Department Chair, and thereafter with the Patterson School of Accountancy from its formation in 1979 until his retirement in 2002.  While with the University, he served for several years on the Faculty Senate, including as its Chair, the University Planning Council and the Graduate Council.  He was named the Patterson School of Accountancy Outstanding Teacher in 1990, and received the Mississippi Society of CPAs initial Outstanding Educator Award in 1987.

 In service to his profession, Charles served as national President of Beta Alpha Psi, the accounting honorary, Vice-President of the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy, and on the Board of Governors of the Mississippi Society of CPAs.  He also served on the Mississippi State Board of Public Accountancy, including as its Chair.

 Survivors include his wife of almost sixty-eight years, Nelda Brawner Taylor of Oxford; two sons, Charles Michael Taylor and his wife Virginia (Lee) of Cypress, Texas, and Ronald Garrett (Ron) Taylor and his wife Helen (Morgan) of Jackson, Mississippi; his brother, James Lyle Taylor and his wife, Jean of Metairie, Louisiana, and his sister, Nancy Faye Webb and her husband, J.B. of Florence, Alabama; as well as his five grandchildren, Garrett, Jack, Ross, Anna Claire and Caroline Taylor. 

 Contributions in Dr. Taylor’s memory may be made to the Patterson School of Accountancy at the University of Mississippi, c/o The University of Mississippi Foundation, 406 University Avenue, Oxford, MS 38655, or First Baptist Church of Oxford, 800 Van Buren Avenue, Oxford, MS 38655.

In honor of Dr. Taylor’s service to his country, the flag of the United States Air Force will be flown at Waller Funeral Home.

For further information or to leave an online condolence, please call 662.234.7971 or visit www.wallerfuneralhome.com.