Waller Taylor II; Lawyer, Prominent Supporter of YMCA

Waller Taylor II, a prominent Los Angeles attorney and major fund-raiser for, donor to and director of the YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles, died Friday in his Century City home, apparently of a heart attack.

He was 65 and a partner in the law firm of Adams, Duque & Hazeltine, the firm Richard M. Nixon joined after losing the 1960 presidential election to John F. Kennedy.

A fifth generation Californian and a son of Reese H. Taylor, longtime chairman of Union Oil Co. of California, Waller Taylor received his law degree from Stanford in 1950 after service in the Navy during World War II. He had completed his undergraduate work at UC Berkeley and the University of Texas.

He joined Adams, Duque & Hazeltine in 1950 and was made a partner five years later.

In 1956, he was elected to the YMCA’s Board of Directors and served as its chairman from 1970 to 1981. From 1959 to 1961 he headed the $14-million building program--then the largest in YMCA history--that built or rehabilitated some 20 branches and camps.

He became known locally as “Mr. YMCA” and in 1966 was named to the Golden Book of Distinguished Service--the Y’s highest honor.

His other charities included the Hospital of the Good Samaritan, Stanford Law School, the Independent Colleges of California, the (Los Angeles) Central City Assn., and the USO.

Survivors include three sons, two brothers, a sister and five grandchildren.

A memorial service is scheduled Friday at 11 a.m. at All Saints Episcopal Church in Beverly Hills. Contributions in his memory are asked to the YMCA, 625 S. New Hampshire Ave., Los Angeles 90005.