Ralston "Rich" Taylor, 73, of Keokuk, Iowa died Thursday, September 3, 2009 at the Carthage Memorial Hospital in Illinois. He was born February 11, 1936 in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Dorr Kimball and Catherine Goss Taylor. On May 1, 1993, he married the love of his life, Anita Kuhr at St. John's Episcopal Church in Keokuk, Iowa. She survives. Other survivors include three cousins, Mary Vitolins and her husband Bob, Lydia, Zimmer and her husband, Thomas and their sons Nathaniel and Andrew, Lucy Mucsi and her husband Marcel, a brother-in-law, Karl Heinz Kuhr and his wife Lorli, a niece, Ursula Britta Neger, and her husband, Roland, great nephew Dominic, great niece Denise Jasmine. He was preceded in death by his parents. Rich attended Francis W. Parker School in Chicago from Kindergarten until he attended Lake Forest Academy. He then graduated from high school in Decatur, IL due to his father's transfer from Chicago to Decatur with the class of 1954. In 1958 he graduated from the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics. In June of 1959, he was drafted into the United States Army and was stationed in Kaiserslautern, Germany. After two years of service he was honorably discharged in June of 1961. Rich was the General Manager of the Keokuk Junction Railroad from 1986 – 1996. He was also the president of the Keokuk Union Depot from 1993 – 1996. He was on the Grand Theater Board of Directors, Keokuk Historical Society, Keokuk Art Center and the George M. Verity board plus many more. Rich loved to travel and had visited most of the capital cities in Europe. He was an avid Trolly fan and a member of the Illinois Rail Museum since 1958 and The Lexington Group. He was a great writer and had been working on a book about "The North Shore Line" and "8760" History. Rich was a very kind man and always put his heart on the line to help others. His lifetime goals were to reach peace and justice among struggling people so they might find love and happiness as well. He was just too kind for this world. A memorial service was held at 1:30 p.m., Friday, September 11, 2009 at St. Johns Episcopal Church in Keokuk with The Reverend Larry A. Snyder and Pastor Craig Burton officiating. A memorial has been established.