Elsie Carolyn (Burcham) Taylor

Elsie Carolyn (Burcham) Taylor, age 94, of Montevallo, passed away on June 2, 2023. She was born on July 16, 1928, at home on Cherry Street in Central Park, Birmingham, to parents Benjamin Franklin Burcham, Elizabeth “Lily” (Robinson) Burcham, and big brother David Hassell Burcham. She graduated from Fairfield High School in 1947 and married John Edward Taylor. She had three children, John Robin, Meribeth, and Leah. Following the death of her first husband, she moved in with her parents and worked at a local hospital to help support the family.

Following the death of her beloved father, she moved her mother, Lily, and girls to the town of Orange Beach in south Alabama to be closer to her son, Robin, and her grandchildren Jennifer, Emily, and Matthew. Elsie became the Girl Scout leader for a local troupe in which both her daughters participated for a time. She joined a formerly married club and met, and later married, Reynold “Dick” White. They later moved to Foley with her mother and girls. Elsie became a church secretary at the Presbyterian Church, and she and Dick coached a girls’ softball for two years.

After Dick’s passing in 1981, Elsie and Lily remained in Foley near Robin and his family until Robin’s untimely passing from cancer in 1995. She and Lily moved to Montevallo where both Leah and Meribeth lived at that time. Elsie sought out opportunities for connection. She began going to University Baptist Church, volunteered for Meals-on-Wheels, and went to the Montevallo Senior Center several days a week. She enjoyed learning how to use a computer (which she very much wanted to master), and she was always looking for ways to help others. Elsie had an inquiring mind, and she always strived to understand from various points of view. From politics to astrology, religion to how things worked, she was always searching for answers.

Elsie is survived by her daughters, Meribeth (Taylor) Lapidus and Leah (Taylor) Kirk; grandchildren Jennifer Taylor, Emily Taylor, Matthew Taylor (Robin), Tiffany Hamburg (Meribeth), Lauren (Patterson) Lathem, and Adam Patterson (Leah) and great-grandchildren, Matthew and Julia Scazzafava (Emily), and Michah and Meadow Taylor (Matthew).

She was preceded in death by her father Benjamin Franklin Burcham; son, John Robin Taylor; mother Elizabeth “Lily” Burcham, and brother, David Hassell Burcham.

The memorial service will be at Southern Heritage Funeral Home, 475 Cahaba Valley Rd, Pelham, AL 35124, July 15, 2:00 pm. A visitation with reception will follow the memorial service in the Colonial and Victorian parlors.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the Montevallo Senior Center.