CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The doors at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center will open at 9 a.m. Friday to allow the community to remember the life of “KJ” Taylor who was shot and killed last week’s on the city’s West Side.
Taylor, 18, was scheduled to graduate from Capital High School next month. Police have made no arrests in connection with his death.
Charleston radio personality Woody Woods of 98.7 The Beat said Thursday “KJ” was quick to make an impression.
“I got to know “KJ” because I do the (PA) announcing for Capital High and during pre-game I was always drawn to him because he was one of those young men everybody wanted to be around,” Woods said.
Taylor starred on the football field and basketball court. He played football in Arizona last fall because of the impact COVID-19 was having on football in West Virginia.
Charleston Councilwoman Jennifer Pharr said the grief on “KJ’s” parents, Kelvin Taylor, Sr and Tara Taylor, is unimaginable.
“This has been extremely hard on them. “KJ” was her world,” Pharr said.
Pharr said she met “KJ” when her son played on the same AAU basketball team. He had an immediate impact on her life.
“The first thing he said to me was, ‘You love Zion like my momma loves me.’. He loved his parents and he loved his mother. He was just a good kid. He was a really, really good kid,” Pharr explained in a conversation about him on 580-Live on MetroNews affiliate 580-WCHS in Charleston.
It’s been difficult for everyone associated with Taylor from his family, to his neighbors, and his Capital classmates and teammates. Woods said “KJ’s” passing is more than just a young man cut down too soon in life.
“I’ve been around a lot of death, but this one is like a kick in the chest. You would never think somebody would kill “KJ” Taylor,” Woods explained.
Taylor had aspirations of pursuing a career in sports medicine or in real estate and community revitalization.
Taylor’s parents have requested the funeral be a “white out.” The family has asked everyone attending to wear something white.
Visitation will be from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and the service will start at 11. Afterward there will be a funeral procession from the Coliseum to Laidley Field for a celebration of life and balloon release.
The family will then receive friends at the 2nd Avenue Community Center.
“He didn’t judge anyone, he was a very straight-up kid. He was just loved. He loved people and people loved him,” Pharr said.