Norma Jean Taylor

Norma Jean Booth was born on September 3, 1934 to Earnest Pearce Booth and Mary Alice Booth (née Hedges) in the tiny agricultural and cattle ranching community of LaBelle, Florida, population +/- 500.

Her daddy worked as a mechanic at the time, and her mama was a homemaker who also volunteered at the First Baptist Church and public school.

She was fourth in a family that included older brothers Robert Morris and Joseph Elmer, an older sister Mary Elizabeth, and a younger brother John Ernest. All of her siblings predeceased her.

She lived in a neighborhood known as Ben Avon where many of her relatives also lived. Many of the street signs bear family first and surnames to this day. And Earnest and Mary Alice’s adorable wooden frame house is still standing as of a couple of years ago!

She had fond memories of lots of outdoor play, including one unfortunate incident when she accidentally (or not?) started a fire in a field behind the house, eating tomatoes off the vines, guavas off the branches, and taking care of her pet black cow, Beauty.

Her Daddy called her Cooter, and she loved to sit on his lap while he listened to the radio. She also talked about how much she loved to sit in a window of her home to read and eat bread. She continued her love of reading throughout her whole life. And eating.

One thing she didn’t love was household chores, and she remembered getting into more than one hair-pulling fight with her older sister Elizabeth over washing the dishes! Fortunately, Norma Jean’s dear aunt Barbara was often there to smooth things over, as she would throughout her life.

In spite of the town’s small size, Norma Jean made lots of friends, and remembered square dances, movies and ice cream in downtown LaBelle, trips to the big city of Fort Myers for shopping, and occasionally a trip to Ft. Myers Beach!

In high school, she was a member of the girls’ basketball team and played clarinet in the high school band.

She was in a Home Economics class at LaBelle High School in 1950 when Ralph Wayne Taylor entered the room to visit the teacher, his sister Lenore. He was dashing in his Navy uniform and all the girls swooned, except Norma Jean, his future wife, who played it cool.

Norma Jean may have ignored him initially, but it wasn’t long before she got swept off her feet and the two fell quickly in love. She remembered being embraced so warmly by Ralph’s parents, especially his mother, Mildred Feller, with whom she would go on to forge a truly loving bond until Mildred’s death in 1985.

They married at the First Baptist Church of LaBelle on August 5, 1951 and moved to Coral Gables, where Ralph worked on his Engineering degree at the University of Miami. Oldest daughter Jean JoNelle was born in 1952 and son Alan Wayne followed in 1953.

The young family moved to Cincinnati, Ohio where Ralph began working for General Electric Aviation. While there, Cheryl Lynn was born in 1955. The couple lived in Orlando, Florida for a brief time – where Angela Roseanne was born in 1958 – before the family moved to Titusville (“Space City”) in 1959 when Ralph took a position as Design Engineer at Martin Marietta Corporation. Youngest son Scott was born in 1962, and the family remained in Titusville for the next 14 years before moving to Ft. Myers. Jean and Ralph remained in Ft. Myers until 2008 when they moved to Clearwater, Florida. Ralph passed away in September 2010. They had been married for nearly 60 years.

Mom loved Dad her whole life, and was a committed wife, partner and best friend.

What else did she love?

Mom loved the Lord with all her heart. She gave her life to Jesus at a young age and tried to honor God by living out Jesus’ message of love every day of her life. She was a lifelong volunteer, including several years as a “Pink Lady” at Jess Parrish Memorial Hospital in Titusville, and later, after Dad’s death, with Hospice in Pinellas County.

She believed it was her ministry to reach out to those who needed encouragement and a friend. She loved to send cards.

She loved people, people-watching, and made friends everywhere she went, in the unlikeliest of places, from McDonald’s and Fantastic Sam’s, to the shopping mall bench. Many of those “strangers” became long-time and dear friends. And she invited every single one of them to church!

Throughout her life, she was an active member of the churches the family attended, including First Assembly of God in Titusville, Florida, and First Assembly of Ft. Myers, Florida. In later years, she attended what is now the Mission City Church in Largo, Florida, and Trinity Baptist Church in Sun City Center, Florida. She loved being a member of the sanctuary choir and she loved singing all the old-time hymns.

She had a great sense of humor and loved to tell and hear funny stories.

She loved shopping at thrift stores and she had favorites everywhere she lived and visited them often. She was always on the hunt for the perfect purse, and she loved bracelets!

She loved to eat, but nothing fancy. “Regular” restaurants were her preferred places, and of course, the little mom-and-pops that she and Dad loved to frequent when they traveled all those back roads during their many, many trips all over the country. Eating breakfast “out” was always a treat to begin the day.

She loved traveling. She loved taking the grandkids and great grandkids on trips in the RV.

Mom and Dad traveled all over the world, including North America (Canada, Mexico, South America, an RV caravan throughout Alaska), the Caribbean, Hawaii, Western Europe, Scandinavia, and the Middle East (she visited the Holy Land on at least two occasions).

She never claimed to “love” cooking but Dad and us kids certainly loved her delicious, simple Southern dishes, and she excelled at several: country fried cube steak smothered in gravy with mashed potatoes, pan fried thin pork chops with gravy, baked ham with gravy, beef stew and meatloaf to name a few. The incredible aroma of a baking ham or roast that greeted us when we returned home from church on Sunday will forever be etched in our memories. Her sweet iced tea was legendary at home and during the good ole days of the “pot luck” after Sunday church service.

And finally, Mom loved her family beyond measure.

Mom and Dad provided us children with an incredible upbringing, taught us about Jesus and the Gospel of Love, provided us with absolutely everything we could ever have wished for. They spoiled us even when they couldn’t or shouldn’t have. Most importantly, together with Dad, Mom provided an invaluable road map about how to live out our lives, and for that we are forever grateful.

Surviving children are Jean Jonelle Holdsworth, Alan Wayne Taylor, Angela Roseanne Herndon (Gregory M.) and Scott Ward Taylor (David Upchurch). Cheryl Lynn Roberts (John) passed away in 2015.

Grandchildren are Jean Michelle Dehaven, Christopher Wayne Taylor (Rachel A.), Michael Gregory Taylor (Liz), Johnnie R. Roberts (Kristy S.), Wade Roberts (Michelle), Melody Renee Ragsdale (Erik), Deanne Nicole Adkins, Tucker Scott M. Herndon (Sharon).

Great grandchildren are Richard Clarke Todd III, Chelcy Nicole Todd, Ashley Michelle Todd, Zach L. Terwilliger, Gabe W. Taylor, Zoe R. Taylor, Courtney L. Hughes (Nic), Katelyn N. Roberts, Hunter M. Reliford, Charity R. Roberts, Tyler Roberts, Gavin Roberts, Brooklynn Roberts, Ryley Butz, Cameron Butz, Aidan Greer, Kaida Lynn Ragsdale, Ladon Frederik Ragsdale, Gallus Edward Ragsdale, Evrin Ralph Ragsdale, Hunter Ragsdale, Addyson Ragsdale, Elsie Rose Herndon and Olivia Lynn Herndon.

Great great grandchildren are Ellie Michelle Machado, Brayden Avery Machado, Evan Anthony Garcia and Theodore D. Hughes.

Other dear loved ones include cousins Freya Amanda Mroczkowski (Harry) and Tracey McGrath (John); brother-in-law Keith I. Taylor (Colleen); nieces Teresa Booth, Cathy Jordan (Chuck), Sharon Booth Sieber, Christine Thomas (David), Debby Clack (Ronnie), Sharon Bowdler, Jeannette LeMasters (Doug), and Rebecca Hayes (NL); and nephews Curtis Padgett, Steven C. Taylor (Giselle) and David K. Taylor.

A funeral service for Norma will be held Friday, September 8, 2023 from 12:00 PM to 12:30 PM at Serenity Funeral Home, 13401 Indian Rocks Road, Largo, FL 33774. A graveside service will occur Friday, September 8, 2023 from 1:00 PM to 1:30 PM at Serenity Gardens Memorial Park, 13401 Indian Rocks Road, Largo, FL 33774. A visitation will occur Friday, September 8, 2023 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM, 13401 Indian Rocks Road, Largo, FL 33774.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.serenityfuneralhomelargo.com for the Taylor family.