William Russell "Rusty" Day-Taylor

William Russell “Rusty” Day-Taylor, 44, of Deputy, passed away at 12:18 p.m. on Monday, June 8, 2026, at his home in Deputy.

Born on January 9, 1982, in Bartholomew County, he was the son of William Samuel Day and Tammy Richardson Melton. He married Terry Taylor on June 26, 2020, in Nicholasville, Kentucky; he survives.

Rusty was a 2000 graduate of Jennings County High School and 2004 graduate of Ivy Tech Community College with a degree in Health Care. He served in the United States Army from 2008-2014. Rusty worked as a paramedic in Jessamine County, Kentucky for eight years before retiring in 2024, and had previously worked as a surgical tech in Kansas and an emergency room tech in Wilmington, North Carolina. He also worked for Rescue 20. Rusty was a member of The Worship Center in Jenning County. He enjoyed going to the casinos and the beach, traveling, cooking, and was a Kentucky Wildcat Blue fan. He loved spending time with his children and his family.

Survivors include his spouse, Terry “T.J.” Taylor, of Middlesboro, Kentucky; his sons, Urijah Taylor and Nolan Taylor, both of Middlesboro, Kentucky; his parents; Sam (Paula) Day of North Vernon and Tammy (John) Melton of Deputy; brothers, J.C. (Courtney) Day of Columbus, Tyler (Ashley) Day of North Vernon, and John C. (Crysti) Melton of Hebron, Kentucky; sisters, Brittany (Ron) Rea II of North Vernon, Hillary (Cody) Lynch of Seymour, Jennifer Melton of Madison, Denys Butler of Seymour, Marly (Aaron) Blevins of North Vernon, and Loren (Hailey Shelley) Marsh of Jennings County; grandmother, Virginia Mae “Granny” Richardson of Deputy; army wife, Elise Leandres of Louisville, Kentucky; and several nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Glenn and May Day and Russell J. Richardson.

A funeral service for Rusty will be held at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 11, 2026, at the Dove-Sharp & Rudicel Funeral Home and Cremation Service in North Vernon with the Rev. Dale Boyd, Rev. Kevin Cline and Rev. Mike Shipley officiating. The visitation for family and friends will be from 2:00 p.m. until the time of the start of service on Thursday. Burial will be in the Coffee Creek Christian Church Cemetery in Paris Crossing.  

Memorials in honor of Rusty may be made through the funeral home to the Glioblastoma Foundation.

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