Fort Smith business leader John Taylor has died

John Taylor, who built a successful career in accounting and investments and had a key role in the creation of the Fort Smith-based Arkansas Colleges of Health Education (ACHE), has died. He was 74.

Taylor began his investment career in 1990 and joined Stifel in 2015, after the acquisition of Sterne Agee Group. Prior to joining Stifel, he worked as a practicing CPA and partner in a local firm, Merchants Investments Center, and John R. Taylor Financial Group.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration in accounting from Henderson State University and held numerous securities licenses.

Taylor was a member of the ACHE board of trustees, was a member of the Degen Foundation board of directors, previously served as chairman of the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith Foundation, and was a member of the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce. He also volunteered his time with area radio, television shows, and newspapers to educate the public about financial matters.

Taylor also was a polio survivor, and an early recipient of support from the March of Dimes.

“It is with deep sadness that we acknowledge the passing of John Taylor,” noted Fort Smith Mayor George McGill. “John loved Fort Smith and his thoughtful leadership helped many. He will be profoundly missed by all of those whose lives were touched by his leadership. We extend our heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, and all who mourn his loss.”

During a May 2015 UAFS commencement address, Taylor spoke to graduates about the need to “define” and “disrupt.”

“There are two things we need to understand fundamentally about defining ourselves. Here’s the most important one – how you define yourself will determine much of the direction of your life,” Taylor said. “It will have a lot to do with your success or the perception of your success.”

He also told students that in life, “you only get to keep what you give away.”

“How can you change the world?” Taylor asked. “Define, and disrupt. I call you to a life that is marked by those two simple words.”

Kyle Parker, ACHE president and CEO, said he worked with Taylor on what was then the Sparks Hospital board. When the hospital sold, it was Taylor and Jim Walcott who pushed to use proceeds of the sale to do something big. It was Taylor, Parker said, who pushed him to take the lead on the effort to build a medical school. Walcott died in May 2023.

“We got on airplanes and started looking around and talking to people about what it would take to build a medical school, and John was with us every step of the way,” Parker said. “He even used his powder, if you will, to convince Sterne Agee to loan us an airplane. And so we got on a private jet and … I remember three separate flights that we took to talk to other medical schools to find out the steps that it took to do that.”

ACHE was formed when Fort Smith-based Degen Foundation used part of $70 million from the sale of Sparks Health System in November 2009 to what was then Naples, Fla.-based Health Management Associates to build the Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine at Chaffee Crossing. The $32.4 million college and its 103,000 square feet is now home to 600 medical students. ACHE now includes five programs: the Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine, School of Physical Therapy, School of Occupational Therapy, Master of Science in Biomedicine, and Master of Public Health.

“He had a passion for this,” Parker continued. “He could see, back then, he could see the future of this, and he got to see it, he got to see this vision come out of the ground. You know, I spoke with him just a few weeks ago, and he said he was going to stay with it until he couldn’t. My gosh, he will be missed.”

Lavon Morton, a former senior vice president with Fort Smith-based ArcBest, and former Fort Smith city director, served with Taylor on the ACHE board.

“John was an extraordinary financial person, as an accountant and as a financial advisor. That was clear. He had very good judgment, and was just top notch in every way. And he was really a good Christian person,” Morton said.

Talk Business & Politics will include the obituary when it is posted.