MONROE — For all the times Steve Taylor has helped strangers in times of need, his colleagues at the American Red Cross hope others will do the same for him.
Taylor, 65, remains at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle after a motorcycle crash on Wednesday near Monroe.
In 2015, Taylor was given the Glassberg Award for lifetime achievement through the American Red Cross of Snohomish County. He missed the event. He was in Texas helping out after flooding.
The Gold Bar man began volunteering after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Red Cross missions have taken him to areas hit by hurricanes, tornadoes and wildfires. He’s been from Alaska to Florida and many states in between. He also witnessed the aftermath of Hurricanes Sandy and Dolly and tornadoes that ripped through Greensburg, Kansas, and Joplin, Missouri.
Over a nearly 10-year period, Taylor spent more than 900 days deployed after disasters, including the Oso mudslide. That’s the equivalent of more than two years helping after catastrophes and sleeping in tents, warehouses and cut-rate hotel rooms. When he wasn’t deployed, he also would volunteer twice a week at the Red Cross office in Everett.
“Recently, he’s taken some time off,” said Chuck Morrison, director of the Snohomish County chapter of the Red Cross. “You might think that was to take a rest, but it’s been to care for two ailing neighbors. Steve simply enjoys helping people when they need help. His Red Cross friends locally and across the country look at this as our opportunity to offer Steve our help.”
The accident was reported around 4 p.m. Wednesday at the intersection of Tualco Road and Tualco Loop Road, according to the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office.
Taylor’s colleagues have established a gofundme.com account to help pay for travel and living expenses for family members flown in from Pennsylvania to be with him.
In a post seeking donations, Christopher Boyle, a regional director with the American Red Cross, said Taylor suffered multiple broken bones. He also reportedly had a punctured lung.
More than 90 people contributed $6,100 in less than 24 hours after the online post was made.
“If you know Steve, you know he is a selfless man who loved nothing more than helping others through the American Red Cross,” Boyle wrote. “Now Steve is in need — let’s return the many favors.”
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446; stevick@heraldnet.com.
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