Bennie O'Donald Taylor IV

Bennie O’Donald Taylor IV was born on January 20, 1971 to Ben and Roberta Taylor III, in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Bennie lived there with his parents while his father finished his army career until he was two and a half years old. The family then moved to Denver, Colorado to be closer to Roberta’s family. In 1974, the family welcomed another son, Keaton and the two boys became inseparable. They lived in the heart of downtown Denver and attended Saint Philomena’s Catholic Parish School.

Ben was an avid baseball player and loved the sport. His position was catcher, and his brother was the pitcher. He grew up with lots of friends who accompanied him on his bicycle playing until the street lights came on. When Ben was in high school he worked with his neighbor restoring old houses in downtown Denver. That is where he learned much of his carpentry skills. At age 16 the family moved to southern California. This is where he learned to surf and developed his love for the beach. The family lived there for a year and a half until they moved to Portland, Oregon. This is where he met the woman who would become his bride, Kris Taylor. He was 17 years old and she was 14. It was love at first sight.

He graduated high school in 1989. When he was 19, he went to work for Albertson’s warehouse in Gresham, Oregon. He quickly rose through the ranks from supervisor to warehouse superintendent.

Bennie and Kris were married in April 1996 and purchased their first home in September. That’s where they welcomed their firstborn son, Bennie O’Donald Taylor V, in May of 1997.

Ben decided the demands of the corporate world did not align with his family life very well. He was hired on as a reserve deputy for Multnomah County Sheriffs Department in hopes to gain the experience he needed to fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming a law enforcement officer full-time. He applied for several agencies and in October 1999, he received a letter of intent from the Washington State Patrol.

Together with their son, in July 2001, they moved to the small Washington community of Hockinson to meet the in-state living requirements for the patrol. This is where they welcomed their daughter Mackenzie Taylor in 2002. They lived on two and a half acres of land and enjoyed everything that land had to offer. It suited the family’s love for motorcycle riding and horse hobbies. Eventually, the kids even raised steers for 4H.

Ben enjoyed a very successful career with the patrol, where he was very passionate about getting impaired drivers off the road. Despite traveling the world for Bennie’s motorcycle racing, he still managed to earn Trooper of the Year in 2008 and that wasn’t the last time he was selected. Ben was always incredibly passionate about supporting whatever his children were interested in; Little Bennie with his motorcycles and Mackenzie with her horses. Ben took Bennie all over the United States racing and even to Spain and France. When it came to horses, the family traveled all over the west coast to support Mackenzie and her equestrian dreams. Her dreams of having all her horses at home came true the day they moved to their Battle Ground ranch in 2017. Not only did this allow Mackenzie to have all her horses home, the acreage also gave Ben a place to continue his collection of all things! He was quite the collector.

In 2025, Ben and Kris were blessed with their first grand baby, Myrtis May, also known as Myrtie. She was Ben’s absolute pride and joy. Being the collector he was, he saw it necessary to begin collecting pedal cars for little Myrtie. Today, she has nine. Ben loved being a Grandpa as much as he loved being a father.

Ben passed away at his home on October 16, 2026. He is survived by his wife of 30 years; Kris; his son and daughter-in-law, Bennie and Brooke; his daughter, Mackenzie; his granddaughter, Myrtis May; as well as some other family members.

Ben was incredibly driven to do his very best at everything. He had high expectations of those around him, but they were never as high as the ones he had for himself. He’d love to make work a game mostly if it meant to motivate others. At work, he often led getting the most DUIs or traffic stops for the night. The games and challenges continued when it came to the kids and it was always with the intention of helping them reach their best potential in sports and other activities.

Let’s not forget his happy place, Disneyland. He had a soft spot for all things Disney.

He will be greatly missed.