Gloria M. Taylor

Gloria M. Taylor passed away on January 13, 2012 at the Homestead Assisted Living Center in Rigby, Idaho. She was born Gloria Mae Wood on November 17, 1934 near Driggs, Idaho to parents who gave her and her six older brothers a good life on the rural farm they called home. She worked hard and played hard, often describing her childhood as idyllic. She attended school in a one-room schoolhouse and wore her golden hair in ringlets. She loved a bit of mischief, such as depositing, with her teenage friends, an outhouse one night in the Driggs main street! While in high school, Gloria met her future husband, Ronald J. Taylor. After graduating from Idaho State University, Ronald joined the Air Force, becoming a jet pilot. Gloria attended one year at Ricks College in Rexburg, Idaho, and then briefly lived in Salt Lake City. She and Ronald married in 1955 and lived in various locales. After the Air Force, the two of them moved to Laramie, Wyoming, then to Pullman, Washington, where Gloria worked and helped Ronald attain his education degrees. They moved to Bellingham in 1964, where Ronald became a Botany professor at what is now WWU, and Gloria worked on campus as a graduate secretary in the English and Philosophy departments until retiring in 1996. She moved to Wyoming in 2010, to be near her daughter and son-in-law. Gloria loved going for drives and decorating her home. She loved wildlife, nature, cats, and little children. She enjoyed beautiful clothes, looking her best, and planting flowers. She was devoted to her husband and affectionate with her friends. She was witty and loved having fun. There will now be more laughter in Heaven to be sure. Gloria was preceded in death by her parents, her six brothers, her husband, and her son, Ryan. She is survived by her daughter, Rhonda, and her three grandchildren, Lance, Amber, and Autumn. At Gloria’s request, a private family service will be held, and her ashes scattered in the Rocky Mountains she loved so much.