K. Jean Taylor

K. Jean Taylor, age 80, Fargo, ND, died Wednesday, June 25, 2003 in her home. Jean was born on Christmas day, December 25, 1922, in Beloit, Wisconsin to Marjorie (Van Swearengen) and Roy W. Carr. Jean grew up and attended school at Eugene Field and Sullivan High School in Chicago. After high school, she took classes in preparation for higher education. During this time she moved between Chicago and Beloit several times, eventually meeting and marrying her husband, Ray Daniel Taylor on September 15, 1945. They lived between Madison, Wisconsin, Beloit and Chicago for several years. Jean gave birth to two sons in Chicago: Daniel William (Mary) of Ohio and James Jay (Gail), who reside in Durbin, ND. She leaves grandchildren Trish Taylor, Aurora, IL, Megan Danille Taylor, Hinckley, IL, Timm (Sara) Taylor, DeKalb, IL, Beth (Dave) Godde, Naperville, IL, Amy (Dan) Gibson, Davenport, ND; and Erica Schulz, Fargo. Also her great-grandchildren: Shannen, Abigale, Grace, Ronnie, Missy, David, Tony, Nicky and Dominick. She leaves, also, a niece, Lori, Beaver Dam, WI, and a nephew, Jamie, Wausau, and a great niece and nephew: Rachel and Ian; brother-in-law, Jim Taylor of Madison, WI; and lots and lots of friends. Jean and her family eventually settled in Aurora, Illinois, where she devoted her time to her family and community activities including PEO, PTA, Cub and Boy Scouting, and East Aurora Band Boosters. As her boys got older and needed a little less supervision, she began a career in retail sales spending many years as the manager of the housewares department at Carson Piere Scott and Company, Aurora, IL. As her father and mother-in-law got older and needed medical assistance, both came to live with Jean and her husband. She cared for them for several years prior to and following the death of her husband in 1979. Jean retired from Carson?s in 1986 and soon after began volunteering at Copley Memorial Hospital in Aurora. When she moved to Fargo in 1996, she continued volunteering at MeritCare Hospital and for a brief time at Bonanzaville. She was given the COVS Volunteer of the Year Award in 2000. Jean had a grand love of life! She wrote poetry as a teenager and appeared in community theatre productions, including ?My Sister Eileen?. She loved music! Classical was her favorite, but her list includes Sousa marches, big bands, bluegrass, country, and Irish and American folk. She loved movies, the more silly the comedy the better. She loved people and offered help and assistance to any who came in contact with her, no matter where she was living. She had a wicked sense of humor laughing often at life itself! She loved ?toonie-time?! Jean developed breast cancer in 1994 and she fought it with all she had until recently, when she passed away. A special thank you to Hospice for the care provided. She was a member of St. Andrew Lutheran Church in West Fargo, ND. She had been a member of the Fourth Street United Methodist Church in Aurora for many years. A Memorial Service will be held Monday at 2 p.m. in St. Andrew Lutheran Church, West Fargo. Graveside services will be held on Monday, July 7, at 1 p.m. in East Lawn Cemetery, 2200 Milwaukee Road, Beloit, WI. For more information, call (701) 281-8628. Online guestbook www.boulgerfuneralhome.com (Boulger Funeral Home, Fargo, ND)