By Jim Claypool
NKyTribune contributor
To label someone “one of a kind” is an often overused expression. But in the case of Philip Taliaferro III this is no cliché.
I first encountered Phil in 1946 after enrolling in the 4th grade at Beechwood Elementary in Fort Mitchell. Phil was a 5th grader, and his aunt, Mrs. Taliaferro, was my teacher. There was always a racket next door in the 5th grade classroom and everyone knew the culprit was Phil. The next year he returned to school in Erlanger.
Thereafter, there was a semblance of peace and quiet at Beechwood Elementary but not at Phil’s school in Erlanger. The prodigal son had returned.
Throughout high school, Phil and I competed against one another in multiple sports. Nothing had changed, he was still loud and boisterous. In 1955, after graduation, Phil enrolled at Centre College in Danville and I joined him there a year later.
The first person I encountered at Centre College, of course, was Phil who declared loudly to the freshmen assembled around, he was going to get me into his fraternity. He did not. I was beginning to think Phil Taliaferro had become my proverbial “bad penny.”
I played football at Centre as a freshman which was Phil’s cue to play football next to me the following year. After graduating in 1959, Phil entered and completed law school at the University of Kentucky and then joined the Navy as a JAG. This was the beginning of a law career that continued for over 60 years and where Phil realized that his flamboyancy and flair for dramatic pleading played well with juries. After the Navy, Phil returned home to Northern Kentucky and established himself as one of the leading criminal defense attorneys in the region.
The key to Phil’s success as an attorney, both in criminal and civil law cases, was using his loud and “outgoing” method of presenting cases to gain a judge or jury’s attention. Both in the courtroom, and most anywhere else, Phil immediately removed his shoes and paraded about in his socks or barefeet. To prepare for a trial, Phil would seclude himself until he came up with a clever, and often unique, way of presenting a defense and then tell his client exactly what to say as the trial unfolded. Phil’s secret to success was to find a medical issue to use. The list of those he found is exhaustive, but it worked.
Phil was an ardent Democrat, and he used this affiliation to great advantage. Chair of the area’s young democrats, he used this to gain favors from Kentucky’s Democrat Governors which included being appointed, during the 1970s, to a 6-year term as a Northern Kentucky University Regent. Thoughtful but well-meaning chaos ensued. Some at the University liked and agreed with Phil, while others did not. He had prepped for Regent by teaching part-time, first at the community college that preceded Northern and then at the University’s Chase College of Law. You guessed it. When I arrived as the first employee of Northern Kentucky State College in February 1970, the first person to greet me was Phil. I told you he was my “bad penny.”
For the next 55 years Phil remained a constant. We worked, and sometimes conspired together, at Northern; he was my lawyer, and we went out to eat together. I had by now surrendered to fate. Phil was always going to be both a friend and part of my life. Anyone who came into contact with Phil, who by now had won many awards and much recognition as a lawyer, quickly discovered Phil was not the life of the party — HE WAS THE PARTY.
When and wherever he was, Phil bounced from one table to another. The man had no boundaries — and he was working the room. Amid all these hijinks, there was a softer side. Phil had a child’s heart and enjoyed engaging with children he met. He shared magic tricks, told stories, and joked with them. I once saw Phil engage a 10-year-girl in conversation by asking her what college she attended. Clearly taken aback, she replied she was just in grade school, to which Phil replied that she was not only the prettiest grade schooler he had ever seen, but she was also the smartest. The smile on the little girl’s face was priceless.
It is unlikely there ever will be another like Phil Taliaferro III.
He was a presence. And he will not be forgotten.
Phil declined dramatically in his final years, diagnosed with CLL which caused infections in his lungs which is what eventually took his life.
He died at age 87 on May 26, surrounded by family.
Phil always half-jokingly told everyone that “God had attended and graduated from (Phil’s beloved) Centre College” and now Phil is likely busy checking that out.
Phil was a master Mason, an enthusiastic supporter of Boy Scouts (and winner of their Silver Beaver Award), a Centre College Distinguished Alumni, and a member of The Kentucky Veterans Hall of Fame and the Northern Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame.
I can still recall Phil’s signature comment when he told everyone, including me, “I will sue you!”
A Celebration of Life is planned for June 29 at the Drees Pavilion in Devou Park with visitation 2-3:30 p.m. and services at 3:30 p.m.