Jack Taylor, Pro mogul champ

The man, huge in everybody's eyes who ever knew him, died in a boating accident April 13, 2008, in Fernando Bay, north of Jacksonville, Fla. While rowing his dinghy from mooring to shore, the 1970s pro mogul king lost control in the rough seas. He was found dead in the marshes the next day. He was 60.

Jack made his home on his sailboat, "A Different Drummer," at the Dockside Lounge and mooring in Marathon Key, Fla., for many years. Jack was sailing his new boat, "Alice," to Maine for the season, a round-trip adventure he had done many times solo.

Jack was a 1966 graduate of Portsmouth High School in Portsmouth, N.H., and a 1970 graduate of the University of New Hampshire. He was a lifelong skier, a nationally ranked racer and multiple winner during the 1970s pro mogul tour directed by the International Freestyle Skiers Association and the Professional Freestyleskiers Association. He won the world mogul championships three consecutive years - 1975, 1976 and 1977 - often comprising season stats of four wins and three seconds. He was sponsored by Bobbie Burn's The Ski Company, Scott Boots and Spademan Bindings.

He was a founding member of the More Hair More Air freestyle club of Steamboat Springs and its Tequila Cup Competition.  

Jack was a gifted person and an exceptional athlete. He played high school football and baseball, and taught, coached and patrolled in skiing. His mediations, yogas, pursuits and projects always inspired awe. A charismatic friend, Jack will be missed by a large throng of family, friends and admirers.

Jack is survived by his mother, Alice, of North Fort Meyers, Fla., and his sister, Sandie, of Kennebunk, Maine. Jack will be cremated. Memorials are pending in Marathon, Fla., and Kittery Point, Maine.

The flawless skier turned his white snow and surf into eternal clouds.