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| Longtime Taul Funeral Homes operator Larry Taul dies at age 76 |
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3/15/2019
By Tom Marshall
Senior Advocate writer
Larry Nelson Taul, who spent 38 years operating Taul Funeral Homes in Mt. Sterling and Frenchburg, died March 8 at his residence from the effects of multiple health issues. He was 76.
Taul was a graduate of Mt. Sterling High School and the Kentucky School of Mortuary Science. He served as a licensed funeral director and embalmer for more than 50 years.
Jim Scott, a longtime friend, said Taul took great pride in the business.
Scott said Taul understood that he would not only be dealing with one particular family’s service, but potentially generations of the same family.
“In that business reputation is top of the list,” Scott said. “Foremost with John and Larry both was to make people comfortable.”
Larry followed his father, John, into the business.
Scott said his friend was also compassionate and generous with those who needed a helping hand.
“A lot of people came to him because they helped people,” Scott said. “I never saw them turn someone away.”
Taul also worked at funeral homes in Hopkinsville and Campbellsville before the Taul family bought Eastin-Richey Funeral Home and returned to Mt. Sterling.
Away from the job, everyone familiar with Taul was aware of his passion for fishing. He routinely traveled to Lake Weiss, Ala., to go fishing on trips with friends. He was also known to fish Kentucky lakes and in Georgia.
“He was a good fisherman,” said another friend, David Points. Points added that Taul was also a great storyteller.
Fishing was a hobby that was passed down from Larry’s father, longtime friend Ralph Kern said.
“He grew up fishing and that was his love,” Kern said.
Once, on Lake Cumberland, Scott said Taul survived an incident in which his boat seat broke and he fell backward into about 35 feet of water.
Former high school classmate Jerry Lansdale said Taul would sometimes travel great lengths to go to a Bass Pro Shop. Lansdale remembers him going as far away as Missouri to go shopping at one.
Once he was there Taul “was like a kid on Christmas morning,” Lansdale said.
In his later years, Taul was so committed to fishing that he would travel to Alabama and fish despite requiring an oxygen tank.
Friends said Taul was also devoted to First Christian Church Disciples of Christ, where he served as a deacon. He also served as a trustee of The Cane Ridge Shrine in Bourbon County, a place of great significance in the church.
Friends said he knew the Bible well.
“He loved God and he loved Jesus,” remembers Kern, who attended the same church.
Love of God was a family affair for the Tauls, friends said. Larry’s sister, Rose C. Taul of Lexington, is also in the ministry.
Lansdale said Taul was also dedicated to his family.
“He was a fine, fine person,” Lansdale said. “He raised a good family and had a wonderful wife in Sherrill.”
According to his obituary, Taul also enjoyed road trips, reading, drawing and watching the Cincinnati Reds and University of Kentucky sports.
He was also a past president of the Mt. Sterling Rotary Club, a Kentucky Colonel and lifetime member of B.A.S.S.
Lansdale said Taul was quiet, very intelligent and fun to be around. During high school, Taul got the nickname “Rat Feeder” because he was responsible for feeding the rats used as part of Bain “Tiny” Jones’ biology class, he added.
Lansdale said Taul also got into trouble with the principal during this time period because he would pour the rats’ old drinking water down a hole in the floor and it would fall onto the principal’s desk.
The principal finally figured out who was responsible and Taul was punished, Lansdale said.
Taul’s friends agree he will be sorely missed.
Taul is survived by his wife of 55 and a half years, Sherill “Sherry” Ann Knight Taul of Mt. Sterling; a daughter, Anne Russell Taul of Lexington; two sons, L. Nelson (Maggie) Taul Jr. of Cincinnati and Neal Walker Taul of Mt. Sterling; a sister, Rev. Dr. Rose C. Taul of Lexington; and seven grandchildren.
Funeral services were held Tuesday at Taul Funeral Home Chapel with burial following at Machpelah Cemetery.
Donations were suggested to The Cane Ridge Shrine Inc., c/o James Trader, P.O. Box 26, Paris, Ky., 40362-0026.
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