Cape Coral community remembers father who died in ‘freak accident’

A Southwest Florida father who was injured in a freak accident ahead of the holidays passed away from his injuries Sunday, according to family members.

Eston Taylor was on a ladder at the family’s Cape Coral home power washing the house to prep it for a new coat of paint when he lost his balance and injured his head.

He was taken to Lee Memorial Hospital where he was placed in the ICU and put in a medically induced coma.

A group of friends and friends of friends came together to help the family after the incident by painting their home Thursday.

The tragedy comes just under two weeks after Taylor adopted his wife’s children as his own.

Now, the family he left behind is getting lots of love and support from those around them and those who knew Taylor.

Pastor David Acton says he typically isn’t at a loss for words, but when we asked him to talk about Taylor’s enormous impact on his church, his Cape Coral community and his friends and family, “He did so much,” he said, trying to find the words.

A man of God, Taylor taught Sunday school, sang gospel and served as a deacon.

Paster Paul Cornwell said Taylor was his four-year-old daughter’s favorite friend.

“She couldn’t wait to see him,” he said, crying. “She’d go up and give him the biggest hug.”

Both church leaders said Taylor was the kind of man you were glad to know, or wish you’d met; the kind of person that made things better, brighter.

“Any time there was an opportunity to serve, clean something, fix something, build something, help somewhere, Eston was always there,” Acton said.

“He never looked for the recognition. If you tried to recognize him, he would give you a look,” Cornwell said.

In the hours since his death, Acton has been consoling those who knew and loved Taylor. But what’s surprised him is the number of people Taylor barely knew that are so deeply torn apart.

“That’s the kind of impact he had,” he said. “It wasn’t just passing by or waving on the way to work, he was intricately involved in people’s lives.”

And in a final act of service, Taylor, an organ donor, offered his eyes to someone in desperate need.

“I hope and pray that whoever receives those corneas will have the same insight and that same gift of observation that Eston had all those years,” Acton said, and hopefully, make the same kind of difference Taylor did.

In a text message, Taylor’s wife told us she had no words to describe her loss. She ended the message saying he sent her a love letter every day.