Former CEO of Standard Register dies

The former president and CEO of Standard Register — one of Dayton’s longest running companies — has died at 89.

John Darragh of Sugarcreek Twp died March 17, according to his obituary.

His obituary stated that he was employed by the age of 12 and earned his in accounting degree from Arizona State University before relocating with his family to the Cincinnati-Dayton area.

MORE: Standard Register name changed to ‘Taylor Communications’

“His hard work and great intellect didn’t go unnoticed, as he worked his way up the ladder at Standard Register before being promoted to president and CEO in 1983,” the obituary stated. He retired in 1996.

Standard Register is now called Taylor Communications and is a document and business services company that has been in Dayton for more than 100 years.

The company changed its name in 2016 to reflect the name of its new parent company, Taylor Corp. Taylor Communications now has about 600 employees in downtown Dayton.

Darragh was also a licensed pilot for nearly 50 years, served in the U.S. Air Force as a fighter pilot and saw combat during the Korean War. He was community involved and established a scholarship fund at Wright State University.

During his fighter training in Mississippi he met his wife Mildred “Bettye” Andrews, who died March 18, one day after his death. They were married for 66 years.

A funeral visitation was held March 29 at Routsong Funeral Home in Centerville.

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