Cynthia Taylor

1925 - 2020

Cynthia Lee Rowan Taylor
1925-2020
On April 5, Cynthia Lee Rowan Taylor passed away peacefully at Casa Alameda, her cherished new home in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico at the age of 95.
The middle of three children of Robert Livingston Rowan of Bryan, TX and Marjorie (Carshaw) Rowan of Brooklyn, NY, Cynthia was born in Nutley, New Jersey on February 2, 1925. The family moved from Nutley to Baltimore to Merion, PA and then spent time in Washington, D.C. during World War II, where Robert was a naval engineer stationed in the Navy. After the war, the family moved to Houston. Cynthia was a member of Pi Beta Phi sorority at the University of Texas at Austin, where she graduated with a degree in Education in 1948. While at University she met a young architecture student named Harwood Taylor from Dallas, and they were married in June of 1949. The couple moved to Houston and raised three wonderful daughters. Cynthia and Harwood lived a dramatic local and international life; they eventually divorced in 1977. Following the divorce, Cynthia continued to pursue her many passions: real estate, travel, performing and visual arts, architecture and especially preservation and environmental activism. A classic beauty of charm, taste and style, Cynthia lent grace and elegance to her many pursuits and served as a loyal friend and mentor for many younger friends. In recent years, Monday margarita nights with her dear group of architects, movies at the River Oaks Theater, and dinner parties with friends were among her favorite activities.
Cynthia was preceded in death by her former husband, her parents, her sister Julie (Rowan) Murray and husband, John A. Murray, Jr., her brother-in-law William H. Taylor, and all of her Rowan first cousins. She is survived by daughters: Antoinette Harwood Taylor "Nanette" and Dabney Elizabeth Taylor "Elyse" of San Miguel de Allende, and Cynthia Lee Taylor of Houston. Also surviving Cynthia is her beloved brother Robert L. Rowan, Jr. and his wife, Lillian (Crittenden) Rowan of Houston. Cynthia was the proud "Aunt CeCe" to her nieces and nephews: Leslie (Rowan) Duncan, her husband Charles W. Duncan, III, and their children Sarah and Annie of Houston; Charles Louis Rowan of Houston; John A. Murray, III. and his wife, Mai of Lubbock; Dean Rowan Murray, his wife Susan, and their children Emily and Andrew of Austin; Wm. Harwood Taylor of Houston; her precious goddaughter Violeta Alvarez of Houston; and many beloved "fourth" daughters and their children. The family acknowledges devoted caregivers/staff: Ana Don, Elvira Don, Jesse Catalan and Maria Gomez.
Donations may be sent to the Bayou Preservation Society (www.bayoupreservation.org), or Citizens Environmental Coalition (https://cechouston.org), or a charity of your choice. A celebration of Cynthia's life will be held at a later date.