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Widow's children help her cope
The Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio) ^ | Aug. 14, 2002 | Karalee Miller

Posted on 08/14/2002 4:37:43 PM PDT by ResistorSister

JuWanna Taylor, widow of slain Massillon Patrolman Eric B. Taylor, is finding the strength to cope from the most precious gifts her husband gave her: their two young children.

``My children are what have kept me going,'' Taylor said Tuesday at the family's home in Massillon. ``You have to put you on the back burner. They need their mother.''

Taylor, 31, said she has tried to keep her children, Ty, 2, and Lauren, 1, as close to their regular daily schedules as possible since her husband was shot and killed Friday night while on duty. Eric Taylor, 31, joined the Massillon department in 1998.

``He's usually here,'' she said. ``Now, Mom's here instead of Dad. I've just tried to keep them in as much of a routine as possible.''

The routine for the household saw Tuesdays as Dad's day with the children, Taylor said.

``He let me have a day to myself. He was an excellent father.''

As the days go by, Taylor said, coping with her husband's death is becoming more difficult.

``When everything happened (on Friday), I just went numb. And since then, there has always been somebody here... This is the first time I've kind of been by myself,'' she said. ``The numbness is starting to wear off.''

Whether it was playing with the children or doing household chores, Taylor said her husband always took care of his family.

``There are not many men out there like that,'' she said, ``but my husband was. He cooked, he cleaned, he changed diapers. He did everything... We raised our children together.''

Taylor said she also has found comfort in the many friends and family members who have been by her side.

``We're just staying here and making sure she's OK,'' said JuMekia Jones, JuWanna Taylor's sister. Jones, 24, arrived from California on Saturday.

The first time Taylor saw her future husband, she knew he was someone special.

``I said to my friend, `Ooh, that's a cute guy,' '' Taylor said, remembering when they met in 1994. Her friend happened to know Eric and called him over.

``We exchanged phone numbers that night,'' Taylor said. ``On the way home, I told my friend, `He's going to be my husband.' ''

Five years later, he was.

Her husband's line of work was a worry for Taylor in the past.

``Lately, I didn't worry much at all,'' she said. ``I just thought this (Massillon) was a safe place to work.''

When one of Eric Taylor's fellow officers pulled into the family's driveway Friday night to inform JuWanna her husband had been shot, she thought it was her husband coming home, she said.

``My husband would check on us a lot,'' she said.

Even when the officer rang the doorbell, she still didn't think anything of it, she said.

``I just thought he forgot his key at work,'' she said. ``I just opened the door and walked away from it.''

When the officer told her that her husband had been shot, Taylor said she ``freaked out.''

``I froze,'' she said. ``I said, `I've got to get my babies.' ''

Taylor said Massillon police officers have shared information surrounding her husband's death so she can know as much as possible.

``He engaged the suspect, not knowing he was armed,'' she said officers told her.

Taylor said officers told her that her husband tried to exit his car through the passenger-side door when Donald W. Matthews, 61, of Jackson Township fired.

``The car was still in drive and kept rolling, but he managed to escape from the car,'' she said.

When the gunfire ceased, Eric Taylor, who was wearing a bulletproof vest, had been fatally shot. Matthews also had been shot dead.

While her husband always had a way of making others smile, Taylor said it was tough to get him to grin for a camera.

``He wasn't big on taking pictures,'' she said, laughing. Taylor said she had to ``basically beg'' her husband to sit for a family photo about six months ago.

``I am so glad I did that,'' she said.

Taylor said she has been overwhelmed by the community's outpouring of support.

``I can't express into words how appreciative I am and how it feels to know that he has gotten a response like this,'' she said.

Calling hours will be from 3 to 9 p.m. Thursday at the Stewart & Calhoun funeral home, 529 W. Thornton St. in Akron. There also will be calling hours from 9 to 11 a.m. Friday at the House of the Lord, 1650 Diagonal Road in Akron. The funeral service will begin at 11 a.m.

Following the ceremony, Eric Taylor will be buried at Mount Peace Cemetery, 183 Aqueduct St. in Akron.

JuWanna Taylor said the services may bring ``a small amount of closure.''

``But also then it's the beginning of a life without him,'' she said. ``That's going to be the toughest.''


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Extended News; News/Current Events; US: Ohio
KEYWORDS: inthelineofduty; massillon
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To: ThomasJefferson
The question really is; when will you snap and kill someone?

Backwards. I reject your ideology.

341 posted on 08/15/2002 11:03:10 AM PDT by Roscoe
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To: tpaine; one_particular_harbour
First you paste a comment from Jim about how this is a place where Free Republic is a place for people to discuss our common goals regarding the restoration of our constitutionally limited republican form of government ......THEN you post THIS comment: You might ask the chief instigator of these threads O_P_H why he is running about stirring up the forum & flagging everyone in sight to this crap.

I have learned much from following these threads. Is it possible that you are almost stalking O_P_H and are attempting to disrupt? Why do you BOTHER attempting to influence others AGAINST these threads? Perhaps you need to look in a mirror before castigating others.

342 posted on 08/15/2002 11:11:49 AM PDT by justshe
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To: Roscoe
Backwards. I reject your ideology.

My experience with you is that you reject sanity. Hopelessly ill, and probably a danger to yourself and society in general.

343 posted on 08/15/2002 11:12:20 AM PDT by Protagoras
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To: ThomasJefferson
All bark, no bite.
344 posted on 08/15/2002 11:15:07 AM PDT by Roscoe
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To: Roscoe
"The question really is; when will you [roscoe] snap and kill someone?"


Backwards. I reject your ideology.
- roscoe -

Exactly the point. - You reject that men have inalienable rights. You advocate that authority can violate such rights.

When will your attitude lead to someone being killed?
345 posted on 08/15/2002 11:16:14 AM PDT by tpaine
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To: tpaine
There is no "inalienable right" to drive without a license at 100 miles per hour or to murder a peace officer, the inane rantings of Matthew's apologists notwithstanding.
346 posted on 08/15/2002 11:19:27 AM PDT by Roscoe
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To: Roscoe
I suspect that most of them are barkers, not biters.

I posted this on another thread but it seems appropriate here as well.

BUT........not 'barkers'......lol.

347 posted on 08/15/2002 11:19:31 AM PDT by justshe
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To: Roscoe
All bark, no bite.

I rest my case. Unintelligible comments by the boatload. Seriously ill.

348 posted on 08/15/2002 11:19:49 AM PDT by Protagoras
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To: justshe
It will go over their heads.
349 posted on 08/15/2002 11:21:02 AM PDT by Roscoe
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To: justshe
See my post #340.

And I'm not
'stalking', he's flagged and emailed me more than I have him.
350 posted on 08/15/2002 11:22:07 AM PDT by tpaine
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To: tpaine
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/733723/posts?page=124#124
351 posted on 08/15/2002 11:24:31 AM PDT by Roscoe
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To: Roscoe
Gee roscoe, is that right? -

Notwithstanding that there are NO such apologists, of course.
352 posted on 08/15/2002 11:25:25 AM PDT by tpaine
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To: tpaine
What "inalienable right" of Matthews was violated?
353 posted on 08/15/2002 11:29:18 AM PDT by Roscoe
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To: tpaine
JR has clearly outlined the basis of this forum in his quote above. Questioning authority is part of that agenda. - Your hype above is not, imo.

Since you want to quote JR...let's not be selective in your quotes, OK?

To: tpaine
Hah! That's rich. "Personal attacks and insults" are your first and last names and inflicting pain is your game. Abuse reports from people with unclean hands are not taken seriously. If you want to be taken seriously on this forum you might think about cleaning up your act.
257 posted on 7/28/02 4:10 PM Pacific by Jim Robinson

You will note the date of JR's admonition to you is AFTER the quote you have posted. And this is the last thing I shall say, because I think this is hijacking the thread and I don't think that is right, do you?

354 posted on 08/15/2002 11:30:16 AM PDT by justshe
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To: VA Advogado; one_particular_harbour
How anyone could not feel sorry for that patrolman is beyond me. It was a traffic ticket for crying out loud. These nutjobs are so stupid.
355 posted on 08/15/2002 11:37:54 AM PDT by jjm2111
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To: mystery-ak
So did I.
356 posted on 08/15/2002 11:38:35 AM PDT by jjm2111
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To: jjm2111
Yep, me too.
357 posted on 08/15/2002 11:51:03 AM PDT by spokanite
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To: Roscoe
Where did I say one was, roscoe?
358 posted on 08/15/2002 11:51:39 AM PDT by tpaine
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To: justshe
tpaine will soon enough end up where he really belongs, with the other anti-FReepers elsewhere.
359 posted on 08/15/2002 11:53:47 AM PDT by Cultural Jihad
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To: Centurion2000
"... that's an anarchist."

And that's what the newspapers should be calling this cop-killer. Not Constitutionalist.
360 posted on 08/15/2002 11:54:05 AM PDT by jjm2111
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