Roger K. Taylor, president and CEO of North American Tool Corp. based in South Beloit, Ill., died of lung cancer at his home on Dec. 20, 2004.

Friends and associates remember Taylor as a community and industry leader. He was president and CEO of North American Tool Corp., which he founded with his late father, K.Y. Taylor, in 1986. The privately owned company employs about 100 people, makes specialty taps and dies, and has three subsidiaries: Gaylee Corp. and Bitner Tooling Technologies, both headquartered in Sterling Heights, Mich., and NATool Special Thread Tool Products, based in Birmingham, England. Taylor was an active member of the United States Cutting Tool Institute and the Industrial Supply Assn.

In addition to his industry work, Taylor was involved with his local community through the YMCA, the First Congregational Church in Roscoe, Ill., the Stateline United Way, the American Red Cross, and many other organizations.

Taylor's associates at North American Tool expressed their sadness and loss, saying in a written statement, "Roger was a tremendous industry and civic leader, and was extremely active in his community, his church and the cutting tool industry which he loved and served. He will always be remembered as a dynamic, imaginative human being who maintained a special drive to better the world around him.

"...Roger's heartfelt contributions to his beloved family of North American Tool Associates, to his friends and colleagues in the industry, and to his community will long be remembered."

Taylor is survived by his wife of 37 years, Gail Morgan Taylor; two daughters, Beth-Ann Ward and her husband Charles, and Amy Taylor; and his grandchildren, Elizabeth and Benjamin Ward.