Helen (Sandy) Taylor

Helen Irene (Sandy) Shields was the third oldest of eight children born to Lester Howard and Mary Margaret Shields in Bloomington, IN. She died on May 30, 2019, in Cary, NC.

As a child, Sandy attended classes in a one-room school in Knightridge, IN. Following a family move, she graduated from high school in Vincennes, then took a job in Benton Harbor, Michigan. She married the late Richard Rankin Hurst in 1945 and, together, they two children. In 1953, the family moved to Visalia, California. In 1961, she married Clyde Taylor and, together, they had one child.

From her beginnings in a one-room school, Sandy became a force of nature. She was a strong and passionate woman who, throughout her life, advocated for every person’s independence regardless of age, gender, race, religion, class, or orientation and, like her parents, was a very active member of the Democratic Party. Her lifelong ambition was to see and experience as much of the world as she could. She traveled extensively and fearlessly and, at a moment’s notice, would drive hundreds of miles to witness historic events such as John Kennedy on the campaign trail or the space shuttle landing at Edwards Air Force Base.

She graduated from Fresno State University at the age of 63, then enrolled in law school. She served her community (AAUW, Tulare County Symphony, Tulare County Grand Jury) and volunteered in every way possible at the Visalia United Methodist Church. She made lifelong friends of people she met at bus stops and invited people she encountered in small foreign villages to visit her in California…and they showed up! Despite all, ever-present in her was the farm girl from Indiana.

Ten years after the death of her husband, she moved to Cary, NC in 2015, to live near her daughter and family. She lived life richly and fully until dementia prevailed. In addition to her husband, she was predeceased by three brother and two sisters, and a great-grandson, infant Clyde Taylor. She is survived by her brother Fred Shields of Bloomington, as well as her children - daughter Pamela Hayes (Dr. Geoffrey Hayes) of Cary, NC, Dr. Richard Hurst (Dr. Gratzia Villarroel) of Hobart, WI, and John Taylor of Visalia, CA. She is also survived by grandchildren Susan (Dan) Sudlow of Cary, Melissa Taylor, Jessica Taylor, and Trinity (Akash) Patel of Visalia, John (Brianna) Taylor, Jr. of Virginia Beach, VA, and Matthew Hurst of Skokie, IL, and 13 great-grandchildren.

In her 96 years, she had a good run. A graveside service will be held in Visalia in October.