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Mary Alma Ellis Taylor

  Mary Alma Ellis Taylor died Feb. 6, 2012, in Sonoma. She was 88.

  Mary was born in Fort Worth, Texas, to Oscar Lee and Mona Gerald Ellis. She graduated from Rice Institute (now University) in 1944 and, in the same year, married Howard Edward Taylor. Mary and Howard lived in Houston while he finished his Ph.D. in mathematics and then moved to Tallahassee, where Howard taught at Florida State University. In 1969, Howard accepted a position with West Georgia College, and the family moved to Carrollton, Ga.

  Howard and Mary enjoyed more than 64 years together before Howard died in 2009. The following year, Mary moved to Sonoma to be near her daughter, Nancy.

  A modest, elegant woman, Mary was a devoted wife and mother and treasured her many friends. She was a longtime member of the Carrollton First United Methodist Church, where she especially cherished the people and open minds in the Christian Fellowship Sunday School Class.

  After raising her family, she became more adventurous and climbed New Mexico’s highest mountain in her 50s, an accomplishment that boosted her spirit and her confidence. She went on to study theology and religion at Emory University and published a book about theologian George MacDonald at the age of 80. She also spent many wonderful summers in northern New Mexico in a cabin Howard built in the late 1950s.

  She was predeceased by her sisters, Monalee Ellis Altshuler and Elisabeth Ellis Gray. She is survived by two sons, Grady Taylor (Gail Heineman), of Alaska and John Taylor (Suzanne Tolbert), of Texas, and a daughter, Nancy Alma Taylor (Chey Hendra), of Sonoma; also grandson, Michael Tolbert; nieces, Karen Jo Gray, JoAnne Altshuler Hazel; nephew, Paul Gray; grandnephews, Ryan and Kyle Gray and Cliff Hazel; and grandniece, Christina Hazel.

  Mary would want to acknowledge with gratitude the longtime friendship of Lunell Addison, of Georgia, as well the warmth and kindness of the many friends she made in Sonoma. Her family also extends their thanks to the caring staff at Sonoma Hills, Sonoma Home Care, and Hospice By The Bay.

  A memorial service in her honor will be held Sunday, Feb. 19, 2012, at 2 p.m., at the First Congregational Church of Sonoma, 252 W. Spain St., officiated by the Rev. Nancy Taylor. A committal service will be held at Carroll Memory Gardens at a later date.

Donations in Mary’s memory may be sent to Sonoma Overnight Support, the Redwood Empire Food Bank, or the First Congregational Church of Sonoma.