Sarah Richardson Taylor

Sarah Richardson Taylor, age 88, died Wednesday, June 5 at her residence at Deerfield Episcopal Retirement Center. She was born January 28, 1925 in Asheville, daughter of Ransom Spann Richardson and Sarah Flud Richardson. She attended St. Genevieve's of the Pines, graduating in the class of 1942 and attended college at St. Mary's in Raleigh and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. She married Richard McCrary Taylor on April 12, 1947. They lived in Greenville and Rock Hill, SC before returning to Asheville in 1954. She was active in the French Broad Garden Club and Trinity Episcopal Church. Sarah and Dick Taylor moved to a farm near Mars Hill upon his retirement where they became founding members of The Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit and also ran a crafts business, making and selling a line of dog beds and other products. They moved to Pawley's Island, SC where she continued to live after her husband's death in 1993. There they attended Holy Cross Faith Memorial Episcopal Church where she was an active volunteer. She returned to Asheville in 2005 and lived at Deerfield. Among her many activities, she connected with old friends in the Good Time Girls. She is preceded in death by her brother Ransom Spann Richardson and her husband, Richard McCrary Taylor. She is survived by her three children: Richard McCrary Taylor, Jr. and his wife Karen Barnes Taylor, Granville Porter Taylor and his wife Jo Abbott Taylor, and Sarah Taylor Osmer and her husband Richard Osmer; seven grandchildren Chloe Richardson Taylor, Richard Osmer, Sarah Richardson Osmer Viñas and her husband Gabriel Viñas, Arthur Abbott Taylor and wife Stefanie Pearson Taylor, John Richard Taylor and wife Katie Fullington Taylor, Marie Anne Taylor, and Julia Renee Taylor; and one great grandson Mattis Taylor. Sarah Taylor loved the mountains of North Carolina and her heritage from the Sand Hills and Low Country of South Carolina. It seemed difficult to find someone in South Carolina with whom she was not related. She was a member of the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America. She was beloved by her friends and family and was always active in her community. She volunteered at the free health clinic at her Pawley's Island Church, was an avid Democrat and partisan fan of the UNC Tar Heels, where her three children were educated. The funeral will be at Trinity Episcopal Church, Asheville at 2:00 on Saturday, June 8. The Rev. Dr. Scott White will celebrate and the Rev. Morgan Gardner will officiate. Memorial gifts can be made to The Deerfield Employee Appreciation Fund, c/o Deerfield Episcopal Retirement Center, 1617 Hendersonville Rd., Asheville, NC 28803. Groce Funeral Home at Lake Julian is assisting the family.