Taylor Morrissette always thought of himself as “just a sugar peddler.”
He was that and more, say family and friends, that and more. H. Taylor Morrissette was chairman and chief executive officer of Colonial Sugars, Incorporated, from 1980 until the company’s acquisition in 1986 by Savannah Foods and Industries, Incorporated. Born September 29, 1931, in Mobile, Alabama, to John Marshall Morrissette and Marlite Taylor Morrissette, when he died September 29, 1990, he was survived by his wife, Vaughan Inge Morrissette; a daughter; three sons; his mother, his brother; and grandchildren.
Taylor Morrissette attended grade school and Murphy High School in Mobile, graduating from Gulf Coast Military Academy in Gulfport, Mississippi, in 1949. In 1953 he received his bachelor’s degree from Spring Hill College, then served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army until October 1955.
“I remember Taylor growing up as a fun person to be with and as a fine high school athlete,” reminisces Edwin J. “Jerry” Curran, Jr., a Mobile lawyer and close Morrissette family friend. “While he was a college student at Spring Hill he worked with the City of Mobile Recreational Department as a coach with underprivileged children, and he loved that work.”
In later years Taylor Morrissette would tum his capabilities and resources to other civic efforts. He served as a trustee for his college alma mater and on the Board of Overseers for Sweet Briar College, the alma mater of his bride. He was a trustee for St. Paul’s Episcopal School and past president of the Mobile Touchdown Club and America’s Junior Miss, Incorporated, and a past chairman of the Rebel Chapter of the Young President’s Organization. He was also a director of the Alabama Sheriff’s Boys and Girls Ranches, a member of the Chief Executive’s Organization, and past international vice president of the Young President’s Association.
When Taylor Morrissette finished his military service in 1955, he went to work for Henderson Sugar Refinery, Incorporated, as a route salesman. In 1963 he was elected assistant vice president of the company, and in 1964 took the office of vice president in charge of sales. Three years later he became vice president of Southern Industries Corporation in Charge of Production and Sale of Sugar, serving only one year before being elected a director of Godchaux-Henderson Sugar Company, Incorporated. He became president of that company in 1969.
“Taylor referred to himself as a ‘sugar peddler,’ and there probably was never and may never be a better one,” says Jerry Curran. “It was not his personality, good looks, charisma, or intelligence, but his capacity for real friendship with people of all walks of life that, in my opinion, marked his success.
“The truth of the matter is that Taylor would have been successful at anything he undertook, but Taylor’s father, in his early years, had been connected with the sugar business, and I believe that it was somehow in Taylor’s blood.”
In 1973 Taylor Morrissette resigned his presidency of Godchaux-Henderson to accept the presidency of North American Sugar Industries, Incorporated, a division of Borden, Incorporated. In 1980 he acquired the assets of North American from Borden and went on to form a new corporation known as Colonial Sugars, Incorporated, leading it at one point to annual sales of more than $300 million.
“He was a giant in the sugar industry, highly respected by his peers,” remembers former U.S. Congressman Jack Edwards of Mobile. “He was also well-known in the banking field, having been chairman of the board of First National Bank of Mobile and chairman of First Bancgroup, Alabama, Incorporated.”
Other of Mr. Morrissette’s business affiliations included serving as vice chairman of the National Association of Food Research, as a director and treasurer of the U.S. Cane Sugar Refiners’ Association, as a member of the New York Coffee and Sugar Exchange, as chairman of Marshall Biscuit Company, and as a director for Bedsole Medical, Morrison’s, Savannah Foods and Industries, and Addsco. He was also a director for AmSouth Bank, N. A., and the AmSouth Bank Mobile City Board.
“When Taylor moved from GodchauxHenderson to Borden’s North American division, Borden had no real connection with Mobile, Alabama,” says Jerry Curran. ‘The sugar refinery was in Louisiana and of course, Borden’s headquarters were elsewhere.
“After joining Borden, Taylor prevailed on them to move the executive, accounting and sales offices of North American Sugar to his hometown, which was a meaningful addition to Mobile’s business community.”
One of the Mobile newspapers recognized Mr. Morrissette in the unlikely venue of a political column, writing:
“Though he is one of Mobile’s most successful businessmen, he is ‘down-to-earth’ and refreshingly open to people and tolerant of divergent thought. At the same time, he is a man of principle. His decisions are based on what is morally right rather than monetarily expedient. If this writer were going to describe the traits which this city’s leadership most needed, Taylor would have every one of them. Would that we had more Taylor Morrissette’s.”
In 1981 Taylor Morrissette suffered a heart attack, which was soon followed by a rare digestive disorder that limited his activities and finally forced him to step down as president of Colonial Sugars in 1985, immediately prior to its sale to Savannah Foods.
“Taylor Morrissette died too young,” says Jack Edwards. “He had a marvelous career and so much yet to give when that illness finally claimed his life. But for those of us who knew him best, he was an enthusiastic civic leader, great husband, and father, and a person of tremendous courage who cared deeply for his fellow man.
“No matter how busy he was, no matter how serious his illness, he never lost his concern for others.”
An avid hunter and fisherman, Mr. Morrissette was a strong supporter of many conservation efforts. Son Harris remembers that as his father’s illness wore on, he would enjoy his outdoor pursuits through his family and that to this day his children share his old hunting camp.
“He was such a great father,” Harris says, the smile in his voice apparent. “I don’t think I really realized what a great daddy I had until I read some of the letters people wrote Mother after his death. He was a generous guy, a friend to everyone.
“He was a good boss, too – I had the opportunity to work with him for about six years. He was fair and a good leader. Everyone says he was a great salesman, but he was an even better manager.”
Jerry Curran says there are a group of Mobile friends who fished and hunted with Taylor Morrissette, who visited with him and shared some of his private moments, who that when they get together always seem to find a reason to remember and discuss their friend. He sums up their feelings.
‘Taylor was one of those unusual people who come along just once in a great while who is always with you and never forgotten.”
Taylor Morrissette died at his home, with his family and friends. He was only 59.
