June 27, 1940 – February 27, 2021
Rodney Flint Taylor, DVM (Washington State ’66) passed away on his favorite ski run, Kachina, at Taos Ski Valley, Taos, New Mexico, on Saturday, February 27, 2021. He was 80.
He was born on June 27, 1940 in Bozeman, Montana, to Park Taylor and Susie Magdelene (Booher) Taylor.
Dr. Taylor spent his youth on the 320 Ranch, a Montana guest ranch in the Gallatin canyon managed by his parents. It was there he learned the finer points of packing horses and mules; hunting elk and deer; and fly fishing the mountain streams. His parents divorced when he was 10 and he moved to Bozeman with his mother.
After graduating high school, Flint attended Montana State University from 1957 to 1962 where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Animal Science/Pre-Veterinary Medicine. He was a member and President of the Sigma Chi fraternity chapter. He was on the MSU ski team and was considered for the Olympic ski team. On the advice of his brother Clark, he instead went into the study of veterinary medicine. He attended Washington State University from 1962-1966, where he earned a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. In 1965 while at WSU he joined the United States Army. On graduation from WSU, he served in Vietnam and was stationed there during the late 1960s. His service in Vietnam left its mark on him for the rest of his life. He was the recipient of a Bronze Star.
In 1969, following his military tour, he joined the Kamloops Veterinary Clinic, a mixed-animal practice in Kamloops, BC, where he worked as an associate veterinarian until 1972. His “yearning for learning” found Dr. Taylor back at WSU from 1972 to 1974, where he earned a Master of Science in veterinary pathology and immunopathology. Then, from 1974 to 1975, he completed a residency program in veterinary pathology at the University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.
Dr. Taylor then launched into his career as a veterinary pathologist. From 1975 to 1978, he worked at a provincial veterinary laboratory in Abbotsford, BC, where he served as Senior Veterinary Pathologist. Then, from 1978 to 1985, Dr. Taylor served in “dual roles” at Michigan State University – as an Associate Professor of Veterinary Pathology and as Senior Veterinary Pathologist with the MSU Animal Health Diagnostic Laboratory.
In 1985, Dr. Taylor “switched gears”, when he accepted a position with Hoechst Roussel Agri-Vet Company, where he served as senior research scientist and senior professional services veterinarian from 1985 to 1999. While still with Hoechst Roussel, he relocated to New Mexico, where he served as technical services veterinarian until 1999. Then, he “struck out on his own”, establishing Taylor Veterinary Consulting Service, where he served as a veterinary consultant for animal health companies, cattle feed yards, and cow-calf operations throughout the western U.S. and Mexico from 1999 to 2002.
More recently, Dr. Taylor served as the Division Director of the New Mexico Department of Agriculture-Veterinary Diagnostic Services from 2002-2011. He oversaw the move of that entity to its new location and facility, and in 2011 he “semi-retired”, stepping down as the director and continuing as a part-time veterinary pathologist until 2015. Flint was not interested in going gently into retirement. To that end, he concluded his professional career serving as a relief veterinarian in private practices in New Mexico, and finally, as a test barn veterinarian for the New Mexico Racing Commission (horse racing).
Dr. Taylor was a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association; the Academy of Veterinary Consultants; and the New Mexico Veterinary Medical Association. In 2010, he received the Distinguished Service Award from the New Mexico Veterinary Medical Association.
Dr. Taylor authored or co-authored numerous professional articles or chapters in varied publications, including in the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians Annual Proceedings; the Equine Veterinary Journal; the Journal of Equine Veterinary Science; the Compendium on Continuing Education for the Practicing Veterinarian; and the Proceedings of the Third International Symposium of the World Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians.
Flint married Rosemary Holly Kathrein in 2002, at the Venetian in Las Vegas, Nevada. Flint and Holly were each other’s best friend and truly enjoyed their life together near Edgewood, NM.
Flint was especially proud of his heritage; his family; his veterinary profession; his hunting and fly-fishing prowess; his uncanny ability to memorize and ramble off thousands of jokes; his Montana roots; and especially for his sobriety. His favorite pastimes included downhill skiing anywhere; fly-fishing on the upper Gallatin river and its tributaries; hunting deer, elk, and antelope with “the Taylor clan”; and serving as “tour guide” for friends and family in his New Mexico “backyard”. He loved his many friends and his friends from veterinary school always had a special place in his heart.
Flint was preceded in death by his parents, Park and Susie Taylor; his stepmother Ethel Taylor; his brother James Clark Taylor, his brother Douglas Park Taylor, and his sister Kay Georgene Taylor. He is survived by his wife, R. Holly Taylor of Edgewood, NM; his sister, Anne Kay Taylor (Richard) of Auburn, WA; his brother, James Park Taylor (Barbara) of Missoula, MT; his daughter Tanya Marie Comerford (Tom) of Seattle, WA; his son Dylan Flint Taylor of Bellingham, WA; his grandson Jacob VonLintel of Fort Collins CO; and several nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews. His nephew Thomas Flint Taylor Linfield, DVM (Ruth), of Helena, MT (Colorado State ’83) and niece Jocelyn Marie Whitworth, DVM (Ben) of Colorado Springs, CO (Cornell ’13) followed in his footsteps in the veterinary profession.