Bonneville County coroner reflects on 12 years of service as he prepares for retirement
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IDAHO FALLS – Although Rick Taylor has enjoyed serving as Bonneville County’s 11th coroner, he’s decided to call it quits after 12 years in office.
The 68-year-old Idaho Falls man submitted his resignation to the county on Nov. 8, which goes into effect on Dec. 28. With two years left in his third term, the Bonneville County GOP is working to recommend three candidates to fill the remainder of his term. On Tuesday night, the central committee interviewed seven candidates at the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Ammon Field Office who applied for the coroner job.
Once the committee makes its recommendations, Bonneville County commissioners will make an appointment and fill the vacancy. The commissioners are tentatively planning to make that decision on Monday morning, pending the BCRCC’s recommendations.
Last month, Taylor explained the reason for his resignation is tied to increasing demands on his time. The coroner recently became a full-time position and Taylor doesn’t have the time to commit to it.
RELATED | Bonneville County Coroner Rick Taylor resigns after 12 years in office
As he prepares to step down, he tells EastIdahoNews.com about his retirement plans. His adult son has developmental delays and requires constant supervision.
“I wouldn’t say I’ll be devoting more time to him, but I’ll get interrupted less,” Taylor says. “He’s gone on a lot of calls with me and just sits in the car.”
On top of that, his wife, Tammy, has multiple sclerosis and is now in a care center. He’ll also be busy taking care of her.
As he reflects on 12 years in office, Taylor says it’s been gratifying to resolve cases. The people he’s helped is what he’s going to miss most.
“When I go home, that’s what I feel good about,” he says.
During his tenure, he was able to acquire a space for the coroner to work. It’s a small, gray building off G Street in downtown Idaho Falls with several filing cabinets and a full autopsy suite station. Aside from the families he’s worked with over the years, Taylor considers that his greatest accomplishment.
“Having a reasonable work space adds a lot to any job,” Taylor says. “They used to store bodies at the hospital so it’s been a good thing to have (refrigeration) facilities for storage.”
Taylor’s early years in office and memorable cases
Taylor was initially appointed in 2012 to fill the remainder of Jon Walker’s term, but his time in the coroner’s office goes back much farther. He started in 2001 as Walker’s chief deputy.
Taylor says he and Walker had worked for the Idaho Falls Fire Department together and the idea of working in the coroner’s office was appealing to them.
“When you’re working with the ambulance, you see critical cases and haul them to the hospital or you go on a call and they’re deceased on the scene. The coroner’s office is the next step — what happened and why?” says Taylor. “It was an interesting follow-up factor for us.”
Together, they agreed that whoever was elected coroner, the other one would be chief deputy. Taylor has fond memories of working with Walker.
The influx of people to the area in recent years has increased the workload of the coroner’s office, says Taylor.
Though there have been numerous memorable cases he was involved in, Taylor points to one in particular that stands out. It happened in the Moose area in Wyoming.
“We used to do cases in Wyoming because they didn’t have anybody there (to handle death investigations),” says Taylor. “They called us and said a gentleman had been found by a hunter who had been dead for quite some time.”
There wasn’t much more than bones by the time Taylor got involved. He noted there was a metal hip replacement on the remains. Taylor was able to identify the man and his next of kin by contacting the company that made the hip replacement.
He didn’t remember the man’s name off the top of his head, but discovered during the investigation that the man had terminal cancer. His family had brought him out west from New York at his request.
“He told his wife he wanted to go die out west somewhere. They flew out to Jackson, rented a car and drove to the Jackson area. They assisted him in getting up in the hills as far as they could and said their goodbyes. They left him under a tree with a rifle,” says Taylor.
The man ultimately shot himself and the hunter found his remains more than two months later.
Did you know…
- When Bonneville County was created in 1911, Joseph Morley was appointed its first coroner.
- Vernal Rydalch is the county’s longest-serving coroner to date. He was in office from 1969 to 2001.
- Hazel McGaffey is the county’s first and only female coroner. She served from 1965-1969.
- The state’s first female coroner was elected in the 1920s, according to the Idaho State Historical Society. Her name was Edith Landon, a Democrat from Payette County. She took office in 1929.
- On the eastern side of the state, the first woman to serve in this capacity was Hazel Davis, a Republican from Power County. She was elected in 1934 and sworn-in the following year.
Taylor has seen an uptick in the number of fentanyl and drug-related deaths over the years, but the most common cause of death, he says, is cardiac disease.
“These are usually people in their later years who don’t (know there is an issue) because they don’t go to the doctor,” says Taylor.
Taylor says the most difficult death investigations are the ones that involve children.
“You never get over that,” he says.
Though it’s painful to deal with, Taylor says the number of cases on his plate allowed him to slowly build up a tolerance and get through it.
Being able to help families of the deceased provided some healing.
“Knowing that you’ve helped a family come to terms with what’s happened takes the edge off,” he says.
‘He’s earned it’
Greg Black has worked alongside Taylor for the last 12 years as his chief deputy. Black speaks highly of his colleague, saying “he’s been a real decent guy to work with.”
“He’s real knowledgeable and has helped me out a lot. I think he’s had a lot to offer the community and he’s done a good job,” Black says.
Black is not among the candidates applying for the coroner’s position. Like Taylor, he doesn’t have the time to commit to what is now a full-time position and will be stepping down as well.
He wishes Taylor the best during his retirement.
“He’s been there for 23 years and he’s earned it,” Black says of Taylor.
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Former coroner looks back on memorable cases, and how it’s changed his perspective on life and death