Jona H. Taylor; Carnegie Hero Fund Nominee

Jona H. Taylor, 87, a retired bakery company founder who twice risked his life to rescue neighbors whose homes were ablaze in Leisure World Laguna Hills. In the first instance in January, 1967, Taylor suffered serious burns while rushing five times into nearby homes to pull three residents to safety after two Marine Corps jets had crashed. In April, 1968, two days after being honored in Orange County for the first exploit, he pulled a woman from a house fire started by a burning cigarette. Afterward he was nominated for a Carnegie Hero Fund award. In Laguna Hills on Sunday.