07/07/2026
John A. Taggart, 85, of rural Parsons, passed away at 4:44 a.m., Friday, July 3, 2026, at the Mercy Hospital in Joplin, Missouri. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m., Wednesday, July 8, 2026, at the Carson-Wall Funeral Home with Chaplain Randy Beeman officiating. Burial will follow in the Memorial Lawn Cemetery. The family will receive friends at the funeral home from 5:30 to 7 p.m., Tuesday evening.
John was born on April 7, 1941, in Pittsburg, Kansas to Lois “Tag” and Helen Adele (Barton) Taggart. His mother passed away when he was two years old, and his father married Clara Metzen, who helped raise him. He grew up at Parsons and attended Labette County schools, graduating from Labette County Community High School in 1959.
He worked with his father in the family contracting painting business and later had his own company, John Taggart Painting. He worked for LaForge and Budd, and then the Parsons State Hospital and Training Center, from where he retired in 2007.
John enjoyed hunting, fishing, camping, gardening, mowing, traveling, and watching his children and grandchildren participate in sports and activities. He was one of the founding members of Rendezvous, a mountain man reenactment camp. He served as a Labette County Sheriff Reserve officer and on the Labette County No. 9 Volunteer fire department.
He and Patricia Carson were married on October 7, 1961, in Parsons. They later divorced. He then married Wilma (Bays) Maxton on January 24, 1980, at the Presbyterian Church in Parsons. She survives of the home.
In addition to his wife, John is survived by his daughters, Becky Shipley of Parsons, Nancy Kemp of Parsons, Jennifer Stringer of Altamont, and Pam Wright of Oswego; his grandchildren, Wesley Rakes, and his wife, Jenna of Oswego, Amanda Elmore, and her husband, Jaye of Parsons, Jyssica Lahey, and her husband, Ty of Altamont, Ashley Perkins, and her husband, Chas of Warsaw, MO, Brandon Kemp of Baxter Springs, Michael Nading, and wife, Vanessa of Oswego, Levi Nading, and his wife, Mary of Texas, Derek Taggart of Altamont, Kyle Stringer, and his wife, Heather of Wasilla, AK, Joshua Clemens of Altamont, Paul Maxton, and his wife, Morgan of Oswego, and Michael Maxton, and his wife, Julie of Bartlesville, OK; numerous great-grandchildren; his sister, Fern Small of Frontenac; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, step-son, Lloyd Maxton; his sons-in-law, Steve Shipley, Raymond Wright, and Leroy Myers; and his brothers and sisters, Jody Edwards, Phil Metzen, and Kay Elser.
