DeKalb | Duane Taylor, 59, of Willow Spring, North Carolina, was on his way to Lowe’s Home Improvement to pick up a friend from work when he got a Facebook message breaking the news of an old friend’s death.

Taylor grew up and worked with Robert J. Wilson, 64, who was found murdered alongside his mother, Patricia A. Wilson, 85, on Aug. 15. The two were found dead as a result of blunt force trauma by a family member at 16058 Old State Road in unincorporated Sycamore. The family member called 911 just before 6 p.m. to report the incident. Signs of forced entry were present at the residence.

“I was very shocked,” Taylor said. “Of course, it was very early in the details, and it just kind of threw me for a loop.”

Taylor said he grew up down the street from Wilson, who was known to most as Bobby, on Regal Drive in DeKalb. The two lost touch after Wilson moved when Taylor was about 8 years old. They rekindled their relationship after they both found a job with Barber-Greene, a company that manufactured and sold material-handling machines.

Wilson and Taylor held manufacturing positions when starting their jobs, but Taylor eventually switched over to the management side. Taylor said this led to resentment from many of his former coworkers, but Wilson was not one of them.

“Bobby always treated me as an old friend,” Taylor said. “It did not matter to him what side of the fence I was on.”

After working with Wilson for a number of years, Taylor said he always took notice of Wilson’s family-oriented lifestyle. This family-forward attitude was reflected in his interactions with his union family at work, but even more so with his personal family.

“He felt a significant bond to his mom and dad,” Taylor said.

Wilson, who won $1 million in the Illinois Lottery in 1988, chose to use his winnings to further his family-oriented lifestyle, Taylor said. He never flaunted his new-found wealth, and chose to use his winnings to buy a new boat. Taylor said Wilson spent many weekends with his parents on the boat.

Having moved away about 11 years ago, Taylor lost touch with Wilson. But the shock of receiving the news of his death was not lessened by this.

“As far as speculation as to what may have happened, I have not one single clue,” Taylor said. “Bobby was liked by everybody. The only thing I could say is, [he was] an easy target, maybe.”