Evelyn Waugh Taylor

Evelyn Waugh Taylor passed away in Raleigh on May 17, 2024, at the age of 91. She was born in Durham County, NC, on Sep 30, 1932, and raised in White Plains, NC, with her brother George R. Waugh, Jr. and sister, Shirley Waugh Noffsinger.

As a young girl, Evelyn was driven and passionate about the domestic arts. Truth be told, she begged her mother to let her stay inside to cook and clean for her family rather than join them in the fields to do farmwork. She loved this work and became involved in her local and regional 4-H. By the time she graduated from high school, she excelled in 4-H cooking demonstrations and dress reviews. She received top honors for essay / speaking competitions at local, state, and national levels, and was awarded trips to compete in Chicago and Washington DC. Her winning topic on farsighted farming in North Carolina addressed a need for soil conservation, diversified farming, financial security for farmers, and better rural schools to serve their children. The importance of quality education would become a mantra, setting the drumbeat for her life's work.

That young girl fell in love with a local boy. In 1952, following her sophomore year at UNC-G (then Women's College), she and Samuel Vestal Taylor were married, at the Friends Meeting House in White Plains, NC. When asked later in life about her political leanings, she credited her Quaker roots.

Having earned her B.S. in home economics from Meredith College in 1954, Mrs. Taylor taught those skills in her first teaching positions in Durham and then Dobson, NC, when her husband was stationed in Japan, at the end of the Korean War. Upon his return stateside, they moved to Winston-Salem to begin their family and she became dietitian at Wake Forest University. With her second child, her training turned personal, with emphasis on the economic challenges of becoming a single-income family, but a task to which she was well suited.

In the fall of 1964, the Taylors moved to Hickory, NC. Evelyn became involved with the League of Women Voters, making lifelong friendships, and remaining a committed believer in the power and significance of her vote, working to instill this in her children and grandchildren and passionately discussing politics with friends, young people, and eventually the caregivers whose paths crossed hers.

Mrs. Taylor often said that, because of the academic requirements, one automatically earned a minor in science when pursuing a major in home economics. So, in 1974 she returned full time to the classroom, teaching physical science to 9th graders at Fred T. Foard High School in Newton, NC. Her younger years as head of her 4-H and Quaker youth groups, brought out leadership qualities that were recognized and, after just five years as a high school science teacher, Mrs. Taylor became a high school supervisor of teachers for Catawba County. She loved being a teacher. She loved her students. But she was convinced that she could reach more children by inspiring and advocating for their teachers and improving the curriculum and resources. She took on this demanding position with two teenagers at home, while working to earn her master's degree at Appalachian State University. Eventually she was made Director of Instruction for the Catawba County School System, and this capped her passionate career in the field of education - almost.

Following the death of her husband in 1994, Mrs. Taylor was approached by the Department of Education at Appalachian State. They needed someone to help them place student teachers at schools in Catawba County and to observe their experience. "One semester, "she said. "I will help you out for one semester." But, as with anything to do with education, with children, with training teachers, she fell in love with it. After a bout with cancer, Mrs. Taylor moved to Baltimore, MD, in 2002, to be near her daughter, Shay, and eldest grandchild, Grayson. In 2022, she returned to North Carolina to live out her last days under the tender care of her son, Ron, and grandson, Aaron.

Mrs. Taylor loved her country and considered it her duty to keep herself informed and use her hard-won vote wisely. She loved her work, her colleagues, and her friends. In her 91 years, she touched a great many lives, both directly and indirectly. In the final weeks of her life, Mrs. Taylor was surrounded by her family, who she loved above all. She is survived by her daughter (Sharon "Shay" Marie Taylor), son (Ronald Scott Taylor), grandchildren (Grayson Samuel Taylor-Harris, Samuel Crawford Taylor, Aaron Scott Taylor, and Sovanny "Sophie" Ruth Taylor). A memorial service is planned for 11a.m., August 3, 2024, at The Church of the Ascension, in Hickory, NC.

In lieu of flowers, the family is encouraging donations to World Central Kitchen (https://wck.org/) or to your chosen organization that feeds hungry children.

[Any inaccuracies in this account of Evelyn Waugh Taylor's life and career are the responsibility of her children, who listened too inattentively and with a little eye-rolling. We wish we had hung on every word. She deserved that.]