William S. Tayman

William (Bill) S. Tayman, loving husband and devoted father of six, passed away on Wednesday, June 7, 2023 surrounded by his children and loved ones.

Bill was born on September 18, 1943 at Sibley Hospital in Washington, D.C.  and grew up in Bladensburg, Maryland, graduating from Bladensburg High. Shortly after high school, Bill fell in love and married Doris Cochran.  To support his soon to be growing family, he withdrew from college and entered the Steamfitter Commercial HVAC profession, following in the footsteps of his father and two, older brothers. He was a natural and eventually known by all who worked with him to be a mechanical genius.  Bill worked for York Borg-Warner most of his career in the Washington DC metropolitan area before relocating his family from Croom, Maryland to Stuarts Draft, Virginia. There, he single-handedly kept all the Southern Virginia hospitals running until his son Brent came of age and joined the business.  For over 20 years, father and son worked side by side.

Bill was a humble man, which made him an even greater man. When asked to describe himself, he reluctantly replied, “I’m a good guy.”  To those that knew him and loved him, there is so much more to be said. Bill was the love of their life, their provider and protector, their teacher and mentor. He knew anything and everything.  As his daughter so proudly described him, “a walking encyclopedia”.  Bill could fix it and build it too, including two family homes in Stuarts Draft and Ft. Defiance, Virginia. He was an honorable man with no ego or agenda. Money and power were of little importance to him. Helping others and doing the right thing mattered most.  An honest, hard-working, do it right or don’t do it at all, man. An outdoors man who loved nature and enjoyed 4-H with his children, raising rabbits, goats and horses, building tee pees out of tree branches, see saws out of tree trunks and fishing in the ponds and rivers on his properties.  A father who believed the best way to teach life’s lessons and to show love was through nature.

Bill’s passion for animals later evolved into two, cattle farms, which he operated with the help of his sons and companion.  Bill was one of the hardest working men you would ever meet.  In fact, a couple weeks before his passing, he was working on his farms and climbing 12-foot ladders to view construction on his son’s new house.  He watched his sons with pride cut hay on the farm around the time he passed away. In the end, however, he handed over the reins, graciously and lovingly allowing all his children and significant other to take care of him the way he took care of them.

Bill is survived by his companion, Sharon Puffenbarger, daughters Dawn Tayman, Melissa McCard, Nicole Benson (Darryl) and Tiffany Tayman, and sons Brent Tayman (Nicole) and Justin Puffenbarger (Hailey). Bill is also survived by eight grandchildren: Kayla Rosemeier (Chris), Kyle Benson, Channing Grady, Chase Tayman, Camden Anderson-Tayman, Genesis Anderson-Tayman, Reid Puffenbarger and Luke Puffenbarger; and four, great-grandchildren: Jackson Stuples, Madelyn Stuples, Matthew Rosemeier and Iveya Grady-Gray.  Also living is sister Patricia Tayman and brother Freddie Tayman. Preceding him in death is father Melvin C. Tayman, mother Eleanor L. Tayman, brother Charles R. Tayman, sister Nancy Connelly and former wife, Doris M. Tayman.

A  private family service will be held at St. Thomas Church in Croom, Maryland.

In lieu of flowers, you may honor Bill with a donation to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation at  secure.cbf.org or St. Thomas Church at stthomascroom.org.