David and Charla Taylor

David Muncie Taylor, 61, and Charla Rae Taylor, 64, passed away on Sunday, March 18, 2018, at their home in Helena, Mont. Dave and Charla were well known and loved in the Helena community and will be greatly missed by friends and loving family members.

Services will include family receiving friends on Wednesday, March 28, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Anderson Stevenson Wilke Funeral Home, 3750 N. Montana Ave, Helena. The funeral service will be Thursday, March 29, at 1 p.m., at the funeral home with a reception to follow in the social hall of the funeral home. Graveside services will follow the reception at Forestvale Cemetery.

Dave Taylor was born in Glasgow on Jan. 8, 1957, to Muncie and Dorothy (Fink) Taylor. He was raised on the family ranch at Paisley Farms in Glasgow with his brother, Tom, and sister, Judy. He graduated from Glasgow High School in 1975, and earned a bachelor of science degree in agriculture at Montana State University in Bozeman in 1979.

Charla Taylor was born in Omaha, Neb., on Sept. 29, 1953, to Charles and Elsie (Allen) Brown. She graduated from Omaha North High School in 1971, and lived in Oregon and later in Concord, Calif. In 1989, her son, Paul Kievan Taylor, was born, and in 1990, she relocated to Helena. Her sister, Rita Cortright, welcomed Charla and Paul to Helena, where they all lived together before Dave and Charla met.

Dave and Charla met in a western dance class in Helena where Charla took weekly lessons with her son, Paul, then 2 years old. Dave and Charla were together all the time from then on and were married at the First Presbyterian Church in Helena on April 17, 1993.

In 1995, Dave and Charla began serving as foster parents in the Helena community. They focused on taking in at-risk newborns as foster parents with the intent to adopt a child and offer a stable home and life. In 1998, they fostered and then adopted son Kaleb David Taylor, who was born in 1997.

Dave had a lifelong career with the State of Montana Department of Agriculture. He started as an agricultural inspector and later worked as a Field Program Manager and Agricultural Specialist, before retiring as the Chief of the Commodity Services Bureau in 2005. After retiring, he became a realtor at Real Estate of Montana where he worked closely with Charla for 11 years, and they later became owner/brokers.

Charla began working in Helena at the Governor's Budget Office at the State Capitol, and then worked as a law secretary before moving into real estate. She spent most of her career as a realtor and later an owner/broker with Real Estate of Montana. She was also a businesswoman and owner of multiple businesses in Helena, including Montana Property Management and Lincoln Road RV Park.

Dave and Charla were active members of the community as volunteers and members of multiple service clubs and professional associations. Charla was a member of Helena Kiwanis and a Salvation Army volunteer and Dave was a member of the Helena Chamber Singers, Parkinson's Support Group, and Rock Steady Boxing.

Dave and Charla spent much of their lives as hockey parents and Dave was a hockey coach to Paul. They enjoyed watching and supporting their sons, Kaleb and Paul, in sports throughout their childhoods. Dave's personal hobbies also included coin collecting, woodworking and building projects. Charla was an avid gardener and enjoyed reading and spending time with her family and pets.

Dave was quiet, funny, and an endlessly supportive husband and father. Charla was outgoing, kind, strong and always had time for anyone who needed her and would listen to everyone. Dave and Charla lived their lives to help and support those around them and would help anyone in need.

Dave and Charla will be missed forever and were greatly loved by all who knew them. Our greatest strength comes in knowing they are together still in heaven.

They were preceded in death by Dave's father and mother, Muncie and Dorothy Taylor, and his sister, Judy Orth; Charla's father and mother, Charles and Elsie Brown; four sisters, Patricia Jewett, Ardith Wilburn, Barbara Kubie, Dolores Teeter; and one brother, Roy C. Brown.

They are survived by their two sons, Paul Taylor of Whitefish, Mont., and Kaleb Taylor; Dave's brother, Tom Taylor (Kim), of Spokane, Wash .; Charla's sister, Rita Cortright (Bob) of Helena, and her two brothers, Charles Brown (Leslie) and James "Mick" McKay (Marilyn), both of Omaha, Neb.

They are also survived by Terry and Anita Teichrow of Spokane; Travis Taylor (Jordan) and Chase Taylor (Beth) of Whitefish; Mallory Taylor and Chad Taylor, both of Spokane; Katrina Orth of Great Falls; Jonathan Orth (Charam) of Glasgow; and ten grandnieces and nephews in Montana and Washington, in addition to many nieces and nephews in Omaha, Neb., and the surrounding area.

In honor of Dave and Charla, donations can be made to two local nonprofits that they supported personally, the Lewis & Clark Humane Society, P.O. Box 4455, Helena, MT 59604 and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Helena, 30 W. 6th Ave, Helena, MT 59601; which both have a recognized Dave and Charla Taylor memorial fund.

Flowers can be sent to Anderson Stevenson Wilke Funeral Home in Helena. Please visit http://www.aswfuneralhome.com to offer a condolence to the family or to share a memory of Dave and Charla.