David Taylor’s wife, Shay Taylor, and his parents shared their grief and memories after he died helping residents evacuate an Oklahoma wildfire.

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SCIO, Oregon — Shay Taylor was holding onto her wedding ring for strength as she tried to put into words what her husband, David, meant to her.
“He meant everything to me,” she said to KGW through tears. “He was everything.”

David Taylor, a 38-year-old Oregon native and federal wildlife officer, is believed to have died Aug. 29 while helping residents evacuate from the Railroad South Fire in Comanche County, Oklahoma. He was going door-to-door with local emergency crews, helping people leave their homes as the wildfire threatened the area, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

His last contact with dispatch came while he was assisting a family with an evacuation. Evidence recovered from a structure where Taylor was helping a resident escape indicates he died during the evacuation effort, the agency said. Formal identification is pending with the medical examiner.
For Shay, the moment she learned her husband was gone is still difficult to describe.
“Once I opened it and saw who it was, my whole world stopped,” she said.

Credit: Shay Taylor
David Taylor
Officials had come to her door with the devastating news that David did not make it out. His final act was also a reflection of the life he had spent building, one centered around protecting and serving other people.
“It’s a true testament of his lifelong passion to help people, and serve his country,” Shay said.
Now, she is trying to make sense of a loss she never imagined, and explain to their young son, Teddy, who his father was.
A life built around protecting others
David spent 20 years in the Navy, including one deployment to Iraq and four to Africa. Shay said his love of service never ended when he left the military. After his deployments, David found his passion in fish and wildlife, a career that allowed him to work in law enforcement while spending time outdoors, bringing together two things he loved.
“But he shared that love with everybody that had the opportunity to spend time with him,” Shay said through tears.
David was also a former volunteer firefighter with the Scio Rural Fire District, continuing a commitment to helping others that had followed him throughout his life.

Credit: Shay Taylor
David Taylor
“David was always a protector, from watching over his brothers and sisters as they played in the woods, through Navy Senior Chief duties leading his troops, to his life’s final act,” David’s mother, Melody Taylor, said. “David would not have left anyone behind in a burning house. He gave up his life to save another person.”

David’s father, Gary, said his son died on his birthday doing exactly what he loved: protecting people.
“When he woke up, he saw the face of his Savior in Heaven. What a birthday present.”
Remembering David in Scio
David was born and raised in Scio, Oregon, where his parents still live.
He graduated from Scio High School in 2006 and his connection to the small Oregon community ran deep. David loved the agricultural side of Scio, his family said, spending time bucking hay, driving combines and working in the fields for local farmers.
He also regularly attended Scio Baptist Church and was active in the youth group and worship team, where he played guitar.

Credit: Shay Taylor
David Taylor
For those who knew him, his service to others was not simply a job. It was part of who he was. And for Shay, that is what she wants her son to understand about his father. As she grieves, she is also facing the painful reality that her son will grow up without the father he should have had by his side.
“He doesn’t know the man that he lost, the way I would like him to know,” she said.
A fundraiser has been established to help Shay and Teddy as they navigate life without him.