Inspiration - Oakland Community College

Memorial Scholarship Keeps Memories Alive
Retired mathematics faculty member Richard “Dick”
Taylor has many memories of Occ. One very fond
memory was being able to watch his fiancée, gail,
graduate from Occ. gail earned her MLT degree so
she could work as a medical technician, a goal she
had set for herself when she was getting divorced
and had two children to raise.
Though known throughout academia as a “nontraditional
student”, gail’s circumstances are
typical at Occ, where the average student age
is 27. not so typical is gail marrying a faculty
member she met on campus.
Dick began at Occ in 1965 and worked
primarily at the Highland Lakes campus until his
2002 retirement. During this time, he consistently
donated to the Occ Foundation, supporting Occ
programs through the general Fund, campaign
2000, the Occ Faculty Association Endowment
and various memorial scholarships as colleagues
or friends passed away.
He never anticipated the need to establish a
memorial scholarship for his wife, gail. After
“OCC contributed to the
success of me and my
family, helping me grow
and advance my
career...”
working for more than a decade at Pontiac general
Hospital, she was killed in a car accident a month
after retiring. Through his grief, Dick knew that he
wanted to keep her memory alive at Occ, helping
students who strive, as she did, to advance their
career through additional education. He established
the gail Taylor Memorial Scholarship in 1997, and
continues to fund the scholarship which provides
financial support for two students each year.
Dick says, “Occ contributed to the success of me
and my family, helping me grow and advance
my career, and giving gail the opportunity to
become established in a new profession. I hope
this scholarship will give students the same
opportunity to grow and advance in a career of
their choosing.”
Richard Taylor is a retired OCC faculty member,
who worked primarily at the Highland Lakes
Campus.
Gail Taylor with her granddaughter, Emily. Emily survived
the accident that killed Gail, suffering only bruises from
her restraining belts. Emily is now 11 years old.
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