Robert Taylor ... Lebanon, Rochester restaurateur

ROCHESTER - Robert Kent Taylor, 77, formerly of 7 Dodge Street and 27 Melrose Drive in Rochester, died Wednesday, April 15, 2015, at Edgewood Centre in Portsmouth.

Known to his friends and family members as "Mr. T.," Bob was born on December 23, 1937 in Pepperell, Massachusetts. He was one of eleven children born to the late William and Ruth (Batchelder) Taylor, and he was the last surviving member of that large family. After graduating from Pepperell High School (Class of 1957) and serving in the United States Army as a young adult, Bob called Rochester home.

He opened the first Dunkin' Donuts store on South Main Street in 1970, and then he owned and operated several family restaurants in the region over subsequent years, including Bob's Bakery and Coffee Shop in Dover, Taylor's Towne House Restaurant in Somersworth, and Mr. T's Fine Foods (in two locations - Rochester, N.H. and Lebanon, Maine).

He was a hard worker and he enjoyed the entrepreneurial aspects of being a restaurateur, self-made businessman, and good old-fashioned Yankee trader. Bob is survived by his loving family. His three children are: daughter Kristine Taylor Jones and her husband, Steven Kent Jones, of Colorado Springs, Colo.; daughter Laurie Jean Lee and her boyfriend, Brian Todd Horne, of Strafford, N.H.; and son David Anthony Taylor and his girlfriend, Cherie Lynn Vickery, of Brattleboro, Vt. He leaves behind six beloved grandchildren who will miss their Papa very much: Jordan Micayla Taylor, Emily Ruth Jones, Courtney Paige Taylor, Elysa Ann Taylor, Logan Robert Lee and Xander Philip Lee. Bob is survived by his ex-wife of 43 years, Pamela Brown Taylor, of Rochester, N.H. They divorced in 2009, but they remained close friends and devoted parents and grandparents. Bob is also survived by an extended family of nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Horace Mitchell Primary School, Attention: David Foster (in honor of Bob Taylor), 7 School Lane, Kittery Point, Maine, 03905.

During the years while Bob lived at the Edgewood Centre in Portsmouth, NH, he loved taking their activity bus to a school so that first graders could practice their reading skills with him. Bob's surviving family members extend their warmest appreciation to the staff at Edgewood Centre for their excellent love and care over the past four years. True to form, Bob challenged them and loved them right back.