ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, April 16, 1996 TAG: 9604160048
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: LISA K. GARCIA STAFF WRITER
Eric Taylor was an only child.
He hiked with his parents and spent hours working on his prize possession - a Toyota pickup truck - with his dad.
Six months ago, Taylor died when the car he was driving was hit head-on by a teen-aged driver. State police said the teen had been drinking and used ``poor judgment'' when he crossed the double-yellow lines on Peppers Ferry Road to pass another car.
Taylor's mother, Pat Taylor, said she does not want to dwell on the accident or the alcohol and its devastating effects: the deaths of Ronald Leonard, 22, a passenger in her son's car from Bristol, Tenn., and the other driver, Joel Roop, 18, of Dublin.
``His [Roop's] parents lost a son, too,'' she said.
What she is focusing on is her son's friends and the variety of ways they have chosen to remember Eric, including a Web site on the Internet.
Eric was 20 years old. He was a junior at Radford University majoring in communications. His mother said they found papers on Eric's desk to declare a minor in graphic arts.
It is not only important to Pat Taylor that her son's co-workers at Tele-Works Inc., a Blacksburg-based communication company, created the web site in his honor, it is appropriate.
``I think he would have liked it,'' she said.
Literally anyone in the world can read the comments by Eric's friends. They can see his dark caramel eyes and easy smile. They can see the truck that his father bought for him brand new on his 16th birthday. On its hood, a car-show trophy is proudly displayed.
It's a glimpse of who Eric Taylor was. The descriptions by co-workers and friends show the reader what he meant to them.
Brandon T. Smith wrote about when he met Eric and the impression Eric left on him.
``One of the things that struck me most about him was the fact he was so genuine. Eric was Eric. He didn't try to put on any shows or be someone he wasn't,'' Smith wrote.
Tele-Works' director of operations, Joshua G. Marder, said in a telephone interview that he never got to know Eric as well as he would have liked. Eric's death was a reminder of life's brevity, he said.
``It's just frightening. It just makes you look at your life and your friends and how short it is,'' Marder said.
Marder's words at the Web site recall Eric's spirit.
``He always had a kind of quirky smile on his face and so much energy he could hardly stand still,'' Marder wrote.
Marder credits Alan M. Pastor Jr., recording studio manager and World Wide Web editor, with the idea of the memorial site.
``After his death, I felt something should be done,'' Pastor said. ``So I used the technology to provide a remembrance.''
A counter that would tally the number of times people visit the Web site is not available right now and no one knows exactly who has called up the memorial. The opportunity to visit will not end soon, though.
``It will remain on the World Wide Web as long as Tele-Works remains on,'' Marder said.
Eric was a Tele-Works customer support representative and created company brochures. He was integral in raising funds for the the Montgomery County Home-School Communications System. The system uses telephone lines and recorded messages to update elementary-school students and parents about homework assignments and upcoming school events.
His mother carefully pulls a brochure from a scrapbook whose pages hold photos of the crushed cars from the accident. The brochure is one her son created about the homework hot line. It is part of him, and she handles it with care and neatly tucks it in the scrapbook when she is done.
Pat Taylor looks down at the scrapbook and apologizes for sharing her son's accomplishments.
``You know how mothers are,'' she said, looking away.
Dealing with her son's death has been hard; but each day, she and her husband, Willard, try to be positive.
Their goal is to fix up their son's truck, which was not involved in the accident, and enter it in a car show this summer. Eric's friends visit the Taylors and help with the work.
``We want to win one more trophy for him ... in his honor,'' Pat Taylor said.
The ``Eric Taylor Memorial Web Site'' can be reached using a computer with a modem, and an Internet access account. Its address is: http://cityhall.com/teleworks/eric.html
LENGTH: Medium: 89 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: 1. Eric Taylor\Web site created in his honor. 2. The webby CNBsite includes before 3. and after (inset) photos of Eric Taylor's
work on his beloved pickup. color. KEYWORDS: FATALITY