VALE Dean Taylor 7/04/1950 – 31/01/2021
Mike Wilkinson from Peter Wilkinson & Co and Chairman of Car Craft has sent the following farewell to Dean Taylor who recently passed away.
"We acknowledge the sad passing of a great friend and colleague in Dean Taylor. Husband to Marian, father to Nadia and Jarrod. Friend to so many.
"Dean started with Car Craft in June 1996 in Western Australia as our Business Manager and was with us for years. In that time he proved to be a great asset to the business and a confidant to many of our members. He lived for the group and the members and would often put himself out for the good of the group. He made the role of managing the business of Car Craft his own and wasinstrumental in establishing a number of side businesses for the group.
"With his wonderful radio voice, he can still be heard on a number of our members on hold message services, today. He loved to help people out and got a real buzz from making people happy. He enjoyed the social side of the business and always had a story to tell. I am not sure how true many of them were, but he was always great for a laugh. An ex-defence force man who knew all about comradery.
"He was also a team builder. Dean left Western Australia and our employ to take on a new challenge. He and Marian travelled to Queensland and set up a new home in Helensvale on the Gold Coast . A little while after, we, as an organisation decided we wanted to expand our business into other states and figured Brisbane would be a likely beginning.
We asked Dean to come on board in December 2014 to help us establish a Car Craft group in the greater Brisbane area. He agreed to re-join us in the role of General Manager and worked tirelessly in establishing a footprint for the group. It was not an easy time for Dean and we struggled to gain momentum but he did not give up. Through his efforts and his obvious passion, we started to build. All this time later, we have 109 independent body shops across the country and the expansion started in Brisbane with Dean at the helm.
"Thank you Dean, for your loyalty to and passion for the Car Craft group. May you rest in peace.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with Marian and the family."