Netha Lorayne (Newman) Taylor

Netha Lorayne (Newman) Taylor was born January 4, 1936 in Hackett, Arkansas and cut in line to get into the Gates of Heaven October 22, 2022 having attained the age of 86+ years. She was the youngest child of Sherman and Agnes Newman and she is the last of her family to join them for their heavenly reunion. She married her pen pal Fred Taylor Jr. September 21, 1954 and they recently marked their 68th anniversary. Of course during 68 years things weren’t always sunshine and roses and when she was aggravated with him, she’d tell him she’d like to hunt down that darn friend who introduced them and punch her in the nose. Our mom was an amazing woman. Upon marrying our dad, they didn’t waste time starting their large family, finally (thank goodness!) stopping after having seven children in a 10-year timespan. Being a military wife, she had to drag all the little hellions across the country and twice to Germany, moving to a new state almost every year. This was evidenced by each of her children being born in a different state or country. She took trains and ships, recounting many times how the boys would get seasick and she was thankful that she had them on handy kid leashes to keep track of them. She became a thrifty repair person as well. She taught herself how to fix her washer and dryer and other household appliances while our dad was deployed because our family didn’t have the funds to hire a repairman or buy a replacement. Even when things weren’t so tight, she continued fixing things herself. Mom was the greatest defender of her family. Lord help you if you wronged one of her kids. She would threaten to “mop up the muddy dirt road with a perpetrator’s suit” if they didn’t make things right and/or apologize. She was also our greatest cheerleader. She attended every ball game or boring track meet we had, always sitting in the bleachers watching and rooting us on. Some of her greatest joys were her six grandsons, even if she didn’t get to see them as much as she would have liked. She was always hoping for a granddaughter and finally got an abundance of them as great grandchildren, but she was not well enough to enjoy them by then. She loved playing bingo with her best friends Nellie and Madeline. She really liked fishing and enjoyed when our family spent days on the river fishing for perch and sunfish. But once a snake would try to eat one of her fish on the stringer, she was ready to skedaddle home immediately! One of her passions was animals. She was a Dr. Doolittle of sorts, having a very special connection with all animals, especially cats. We’ll be making a campaign to Merriam-Webster to have her picture inserted next to the definition of a cat lady as most times she enjoyed spending her time with cats rather than people! Our beloved mom is survived by her devoted husband, Fred Taylor and a whole bunch of children: Danny, of Dallas, GA; Gerald (aka Tom), Curtis and Mike of St. Robert; Deb Savoie (Bill) of Fort Myers, FL; and Steve (Chong Ae) of Clarksville, TN. Her six grandsons: Brett (Sarah) Basford, Cody (Michele) Basford, Tim (Kiara) Taylor, Geoff (Jasmine) Taylor, Jared Taylor and Fred Taylor. Great grandchildren Huck and Ophelia; Archer, Katherine, Harley, and Mari; Ayden and Thaddeus; Eliana and Emilia; and Isabella, Victoria, Helen and Alondra. She was preceded in death by her oldest son Donny Taylor. While we grieve and miss our mom and her humorous spirit already, we know she is free of pain and currently enduring the incessant yapping of our brother Don. Fly high with the angels mom. We love you to the moon and back. Funeral services will be held at 12:00 p.m. Friday, October 28, 2022 in the Memorial Chapels and Crematory of Waynesville/St. Robert. Burial will follow in the Missouri Veterans Cemetery of Waynesville. Arrangements are under the care and direction of Memorial Chapels and Crematory of Waynesville/St. Robert. Visitation will be held from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. Thursday, October 27, 2022 in the Memorial Chapels and Crematory of Waynesville/St. Robert.

Netha Lorayne (Newman) Taylor

January 4, 1936 - October 22, 2022