Mildred Taylor

During the funeral service on August 28, 2020 at approximately 1:00 pm Brother Johnson will be giving a memorial talk on Zoom.  You may access his talk using the following information - Zoom code: 9886075550, password: 1914.

Mildred’s Journey

Mrs. Mildred Harden Taylor fell asleep in death in the dawn of the day in the summer of 2020 on August 13th. She was always an early bird.  She was born as a twin with her brother Franklin Skeeterlee on January 23, 1927 to the late Linear and Angeline Harden on the family farm in Waynesboro Georgia. She was one of 13 siblings, Gaynelle Jones, Levester Williams, Nathan, Franklin, Arthur, Linear, Albert, Elizabeth, Edward, Shamie and William Harden, all of which preceded her in death. Mildred was a devoted and loving Jehovah Witness, wife, mother, grandmother, and friend.

Mildred loved to tell the family stories and one of her favorite stories to tell is how she and her mother became Jehovah Witness.  When she was a young girl, she noticed some happy women in the neighborhood giving out books and phonograph. She took the books and records and hide them in the attic and would sneak in the attic to read the books.  The two women that left the books were Jehovah Witness. Those books laid the foundation for Mildred to become a baptized Jehovah Witness in 1954. Years later she tells her mother, Angeline, of the records and books in the attic.  Her mother doubts her and says, “if you can prove that the witness was here when you were a young girl, I will become a witness”. Mildred retrieved books and records from the attic and showed them to her mother. Mother Angeline kept her promise and became a baptized witness in 1968.

In addition to her faithfulness to kingdom ministry she loved to dance, host gatherings, sew and roller skate. She said sewing was a love of her life. She loved to stay current with the times and never wanted to become outdated.  Mildred started roller skating at the age of 60 and drove a moped to work in the 1980s. She was the first to cut the landline and said “ain’t nobody but a fool walking around without a cell phone”.

Mildred met her late husband James Taylor at one of the many gathers that she loved to host.  They shared a love for Jehovah and was married for 45 years until his passing on a sunny day in April 2017. Together they raised 5 of their nine grandchildren, had a special relationship with their first grandchild, the late Monica L Parrish, and were devoted great grandparents.

Mildred sacrificed to make sure her grandchildren went on summer vacations, camping, amusement parks, and to visit family and the farm in Georgia. Mildred enjoyed those trips with her grandchildren and would often tell them after their many trips “You know I sure enjoy you-all”.

As a young girl on the farm she loved to play with her brother Franklin and ride horses. However, once she became older and the work on the farm became hard, she did not like it. She would often tell us that “I sold a bushel of peas to get out of Georgia and bought a train ticket to Miami, Fl.” After several years in Miami she moved to New Jersey where she met and married her first husband, the late Dan Parrish. To this union two daughters were born, Yvonne Williams and Diane Brown.

Mildred was faithful to the wisdom of the Bible and had verses she shared often, 2 Timothy 3:1-5 and  Matthew 24: 12. She would frequently remind her family that “we are living in critical times hard to deal, but those that endure will be saved, so don’t you give up and I ain’t gonna give up either”.

Mildred leaves to celebrate her life two daughters, Yvonne Williams of Neptune, NJ, and Diane Brown of Augusta, GA; eight grandchildren, Michael Durden, Richard Durden, Veronica Stevens Jackson, Winfred Stevens, Toni Brown Anderson, Annie Brown, Roman Thomas, and Timmy Brown; twenty- five great grandchildren, AJ, Anthony, Michel, Mason, Chase, Demetris, Cameron, Shamara, Kevon, Jaya, Ashely, Nicole, Branden, Dedra, Dasha, Nasha, Tyree Weston, Iasia Butler, Inajah Singletary, Christen Stevens, Paige Stevens, and Madison Stevens; devoted friends of Jehovah Witness along with a host of great grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and cousins.

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