Inez Taylor

Inez Taylor, of Dallas, Texas, was born January 17, 1930 in Short, Oklahoma, and passed away February 7, 2015 in Rockwall, Texas.

Funeral Services will be held Wednesday, February 11, 2015 at 12:00 P.M. at Grove Hill Funeral Home, with Visitation from 10:00 to 11:45 A.M. preceding the Funeral Services, and will be followed by Interment at Grove Hill Memorial Park. Reverend Nathan Scoggins will officiate.

Inez is survived by her daughter, Patricia Knoerr and husband Jerry; granddaughters, Kellie Knoerr, and Julie Gober and husband Chris; great-grandsons, Colby and Luke Gober; sister, Nellie Adams and Iva Veal.

She was preceded in death by her parents, James Edward Humphrey and Iva Agnes Armer Humphrey; sisters, Alice Hill, Ruby Proctor, Ruth Allen, Pauline Morrison, Beatrice Lee, Velma McFadden; and brother, Eugene Humphrey.

Pallbearers will be Chris Gober, Mike Knoerr, Jeff Humphrey, Craig Adams, Steve Gilpin, and Johnny McFadden.

Her legacy lives on…

Mildred Inez Taylor’s legacy will live on in the lives of those who knew and continue to love her. She lived her life with two very important things in mind: Family is everything, and enjoy your life to the fullest!

Her legacy lives on… in the kitchen. She was in her element, and her happiest when in the kitchen to share her passion of cooking/baking with others. Nothing needed to be exactly measured, because “as long as you make it with love, it’ll turn out all right!” Some of her signature dishes include jalapeno cornbread, cakes, chicken fried steak, green beans, pineapple upside-down cake, meatloaf, and of course, her famous fried okra and squash. All of these dishes have one thing in common… her love. Her desire to please others spread through all the things created in her iron skillets and roasting pans.

Her legacy lives on… in the holidays. From Halloween, when she’d make popcorn balls for all the kids in the neighborhood, earning her the term “the popcorn lady,” to all the pies and decorations at Christmas… every holiday was special to her. She loved a chance to celebrate, decorate, and enjoy everyone at the holidays. Some of her “items” that will always be cherished for generations to come are homemade cranberry sauce, dressing, pies, Christmas cookies – rolled out and cut from scratch – and warm hugs for all who enter the doorway.

Her legacy lives on… in the memories and lessons. Memories of her house being a safe haven for anyone in need of food, or a roof over their head. Guest lists range from Cousey moving in at 3 weeks old, to many cousins and others who may have needed a warm bed to lie in. She even tried to help a litter of kittens once. It was a snowy winter day, and the kittens were born in the backyard. Patricia remembers her bringing the kittens in and putting them on a cookie sheet, in the gas oven, to try and warm them up. Sadly, the kittens got too warm and didn’t make it… In her last years, Aunt Nellie and Aunt Iva returned the favor of a helping hand, and moved in with her to help her live independently as long as possible. We can all learn from this helping hand. When others are in need, we can remember Inez, and hopefully follow in her footsteps to have an open door.

Her legacy lives on… in her family. She took great pride in her role as a sister, mother, Grandma, and Great-Grandma. She took her role of being a big sister seriously. She loved her sisters and brother SO much, and gave herself a “motherly” protective role as their sibling. Her family was the most important thing to her. She loved her only daughter, Patricia, more than she’ll ever understand. She wanted her life to be “better” than her own. She tried to prove this in the best way she knew how. Since she was raised very poor, Inez tried to dress Patricia up in all Martha Miniature dresses… so big in the 4th grade, she received a request from Patricia’s fourth grade teacher to please put less “can can” style slips under them, since she would knock papers off the desks as she walked by. If only that teacher knew that Tricia’s cotton eyelet panties were also starched and ironed! She also loved her son-in-law, Jerry. He was her hero… especially in these last few years. He would come over at all hours of the day or night to “fix” things. From the broken remote, to larger items, he was her fit-it man. She loved him as if her was her own son. The Martha Miniature dresses continued with Tricia’s daughters, Kellie and Julie. They remember playing with toys under the kitchen table, watching “I Love Lucy,” making cookies, and big “bear” hugs. With a song in her heart, she would hum all day long! She loved her granddaughters so much! Many times, they could call her and talk when needed. If ever there was a cooking problem or question, they knew who to call. She always had the answer. She would also call them just to check in, say “I love you,” or remind them of the Charlie Brown specials, or country music shows when they were on that they once watched together when the girls were young. Her role as Great-Grandmother, or Nana, was one of her most prideful. Her great-grandsons, Colby and Luke, loved her more than she probably ever knew. When Colby was born, she got a second wind, and had a new zest for life. Then, when Luke came along, the same thing happened! She had a new reason to live. Those little boys gave her a way to live through the pain that she was in these last few years. Colby will never forget his “Nana,” and all the fun they had… making cookies, playing ball inside (even when his Grandma said no!), and playing golf at the nursing home. Luke may remember Nana when he gets older; when he sees the smile on her face in pictures when she was holding him, he will know he was loved whole-heartedly.

Her legacy lives on… in the nursing home. She lived her last year on earth in the home. She took that nursing home by storm! She found out that she had yet another large family to love and share life experiences with. Beauty shop day and nail day were the highlights of her week! She was loved by many there, too.

Her legacy lives on… in our gardens. Her passions for flowers and gardening God’s earth will be remembered each spring when her Irises, Aunt Ruth’s plants, and Cannies begin to bloom in her daughter’s and granddaughter’s yards. Like the beginning of spring, she has a new beginning now with Christ.

Her legacy lives on… Precious, sweet, kind, giving (even her own clothes), loving, beautiful, spiritual, strong willed, and spunky… these are some of the words used to describe her by her family, friends, and care workers.

She will be forever missed, forever loved, always remembered… because her legacy lives on in all of us.