The memorial service for Morehouse College Interim President William J. “Bill” Taggart was held on Friday, June 16 at Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel located on the campus.
Nearly 1,000 people, including the Morehouse College community, and its international network of supporters, national education leaders, civil rights leaders, elected officials, and business leaders were in attendance.
Former U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young delivered the eulogy for Taggart, a fellow Howard University alum. He says in part, “I believe his life was a life of celebration. Everybody who knew Bill Taggart said ‘he made us feel good.’ You could see their joy radiate. It is not visible. That is the spirit of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
“I have come to remind you that Bill Taggart has not gone anywhere. Death is not a period. It’s a comma. It’s a brief pause through which we transition to an ever present spirit in the lives of our elders. Martin Luther King Jr. didn’t go anywhere. He was far more powerful in death than he ever was in life. The world and Atlanta have changed largely because of the spirit that was infused through this institution into the life of one young Martin Luther King.
“When you think about the crown that Howard Thurman says stood over the head of Morehouse men and dared them to grow tall enough to wear it, Bill did that.
“He danced through life. He smiled through life. He sang through life. William James Taggart has been and will continue to be a powerful blessing in our lives. We thank God for it.”
Young is a member of the Morehouse College Board of Trustees.
Taggart, 55, passed away on Thursday, June 8, 2017. He died of an aneurysm. He leaves his mother, Marian Howard Taggart; daughter,Elizabeth; and fiancée, Wonya Lucas, among a host of relatives, friends and fraternity brothers to cherish his memory.
