Delaware Supreme Court Leader Stephen Taylor Passes Away At The Age Of 75

State of DE - The Delaware court system is remembering one of its longest serving leaders. Stephen D. Taylor, who spent 37 years with the Delaware Supreme Court, passed away on October 16, 2026, at the age of 75.

Taylor's time with the Supreme Court began in 1977. He was hired that year to work as a special assistant to Chief Justice Daniel L. Herrmann, who led the court at the time.

Two years later, in 1979, he was named Supreme Court Administrator. He went on to hold that job under five different Chief Justices.

Apart from a short stretch in 1999, when he took a job with the federal courts, Taylor stayed with the Delaware Supreme Court for his entire career. He retired in 2014.

The people who worked with him say he gave his all to the court and to those around him. One of them is Lisa A. Dolph, who now serves as Clerk of the Supreme Court.

Taylor was the one who hired Dolph. The two worked side by side for more than 15 years. "He was old-school in the best possible way," Dolph recalled.

She said his knowledge of the court was hard to match. "He had an incredible amount of institutional knowledge. He not only understood how things worked, but also why they were done a certain way and how the court's practices had evolved over the years," Dolph said.

That knowledge went past the rules and procedures. Taylor also knew the people, their personalities, and the small details that go into running a court every day.

According to the Judiciary, that experience made him someone his coworkers could always count on. It also helped the court run without problems.

Dolph said Taylor never stopped helping others, even after he left the job. "Taylor was always willing to answer questions and share his knowledge. Even after he retired, he stayed in touch and continued to be someone we could turn to for guidance," Dolph recalled.

"He was not only a mentor to me throughout my career, but also a very good friend," she added.

Taylor's work was also honored when he stepped away in 2014. At that time, Chief Justice Leo E. Strine, Jr. praised Taylor's "extraordinary and tireless service to the Supreme Court and the Branch as a whole... Someone like Steve Taylor is so unique that he is in fact irreplaceable."

Taylor leaves behind Lois, his wife of 47 years. He is also survived by his daughter Jenny and her husband Dan, his son Brian and his wife Diane, two grandsons, and his sister-in-law Kathy.

We would like to send our deepest sympathy to the Taylor family and to everyone at the Delaware Judiciary who knew him.