Ryan Christopher Taylor

Ryan Christopher Taylor – father, son, brother, grandson, friend, and always a Marine - passed away on Friday, March 5, 2021, at his home in Peru, Illinois. Services will be 3:00 PM Saturday, March 20, 2021, in the Ptak Funeral Home. Burial will follow at St Hyacinth Cemetery with Military rites to be conducted by the La Salle- Oglesby Veteran’s Memorial Group. The visitation will be Saturday from 12:00- 3:00 in the funeral home. Many people loved Ryan, as he was very engaging. He was thoughtful, loving, funny, and inquisitive. From very early on, he was always asking “why”. He loved figuring out mechanics, and tinkering, modifying, or fixing his trucks, his house, and anything anyone asked him to repair. This knowledge and love came from the many hours happily spent with his grandfather Ronald Waszkowiak as they worked on projects together. His grandma Sharon called him “Sparky, and she also taught him many skills, including cooking. His older brother Richie also made sure that Ryan learned as much as possible. Ryan was planning to continue this with his young son, Everett (Evy), and Evy was often waiting with tools, ready to help, watching his daddy. Ryan and his son both loved trains, Legos, and learning about everything. Ryan was born May 2, 1997, at St. Margaret’s Hospital in Spring Valley to Laura (Waszkowiak) Taylor. Ryan attended La Salle- Peru High School and went into the Marines shortly after where he was a Corporal while stationed in Beaufort, SC. He was the Distribution Management Specialist, and he was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and Expert Rifle Badge of which he was most proud. He loved spending a lot of his time with his son, family, and friends. He also enjoyed fishing, shooting, riding his motorcycles, arguing and laughing, and driving his truck while listening to country music real loud. Ryan attended La Salle Catholic, Northwest Grade School, and then Lincoln Middle School in La Salle. He was a Kansas City Chiefs fan and tolerated going to the White sox games with a bribe of hot dogs. Ryan was a production operator at Sabic in Ottawa. Ryan is survived by his son Everett Ryan Taylor of Utica, his mother Laura (Waszkowiak)Taylor and father Erick Nordtvedt of LaSalle, sister Jennifer (Jeremy) Lucas of LaSalle, brother Richard Taylor IV of Marseilles, sister Sarah (Andrew) Armstrong of Ottawa and grandmother Sharon Waszkowiak of LaSalle. Ryan was preceded in death by his grandfather, Ronald Waszkowiak. Pallbearers will be Nick Barrett, Richard Taylor, Erick Nordtvedt, Jeremy Lucas, Andrew Armstrong, Steve Waszkowiak, and Wyatt Huber, honorably. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/donate/ https://tilvalhallaproject.com/pages/f-a-q