"Being the cool guy, he was always there and just being fun," said
Out of respect for his family, this woman did not want to be identified on camera but says she grew up with Taylor's two sons, who both graduated from Coalinga High School.
Tuesday afternoon, the California Department of corrections and rehabilitation confirmed Taylor's death in the Las Vegas mass shooting.
He was at the Country Music Festival with his girlfriend Denise Cohen. Her family says she died too.
"I would want to believe that he was there helping and just seeing whatever he could do to just be that guy, that awesome neighbor, that Coalinga small town guy that everybody loves that he just had to be there just helping, and just being that person for someone," said
CDCR officials say the Lieutenant correctional officer was a 29-year veteran of the department.
In the valley, he worked at Wasco State Prison and from 1997 to 2001 was here, at Pleasant Valley State prison in Coalinga.
Most recently, he was the commander of the Ventura Conservation Camp, working closely with inmates assigned to fires.
A former neighbor we spoke with remembers that Taylor always took care of business at work while taking care of his kids at home. He was 56-years-old.