Jack Taylor was raised on a wheat farm in Blaine County and received his degree from Montana State College in 1912. He was hired as the third county agent in Montana, serving Dawson, Wibaux and Fallon counties. He was named assistant county agent leader on January 1, 1917 and became the county agent leader on April 1, 1921 following M.L. Wilson. Taylor became acting assistant director of Extension on July 1, 1924 after the resignation of Extension Director F.S. Cooley, inheriting a broadly based and progressive program. In his annual report of June 30, 1925, Taylor listed 69 projects in progress, and particularly cited 4-H beef, sheep, swine and gardening projects. On July 1, 1925 he was named Director of Extension.
The Depression caused Extension and 4-H to emphasize frugality, and Taylor made sure that 4-H clubs continued to provide hope to local communities. WWII had devastating consequences on 4-H club work. In 1945, Taylor reported that 4-H work had been almost completely abandoned during the war, although youth in large numbers had been involved in active club work. Some projects were revived in 1944-1945, and Taylor recommended that 4-H be given high priority in postwar planning. He retired as director on January 1, 1946. Taylor was one of the founding members of Epsilon Sigma Phi and was one of the original recipients of the Ruby Award.
