Frances Dulaney Taylor

Frances Dulaney Taylor, born on Dec. 14, 1918, went home to be with the Lord on June 16, 2010, after a brief illness. Fran was born to parents John and Mayfred Dulaney of Coffeeville, Miss. The family moved to Earle, Ark., when Fran was a toddler. She was one of five children. After growing up in Earle, she attended Mary Hardin Baylor in Belton, Texas, and Baylor University in Waco, Texas, where she received a BA (1941) and MS-Ed (1951). A gifted teacher, she got her first teaching job in 1941 at the elementary school in Turrell, AR. She married her sweetheart and fellow schoolteacher Gilford Dudley Taylor Jr., on Dec. 7, 1942, on the day of his graduation from flight school in Pensacola, FL. While Fran was expecting their first child in 1943, her husband – then a U.S. Marine WWII dive-bomber pilot – was lost at sea, and his body was never recovered. Their only son, G. Dudley Taylor III, was born on Sept. 22, 1943, and Fran began her new life as devoted mother and beloved schoolteacher. In 1950, she moved to Little Rock with her son to take a teaching job, and she joined her neighborhood church, Pulaski Heights Baptist, the same week. She enjoyed teaching for more than 50 years, mostly in the Little Rock School District, and was involved in many church, civic and social organizations, including Gold Star Wives. Even after her retirement, Fran returned as a reading specialist and was inducted into the Retired Teachers Hall of Fame in 1999. In 2004, she moved to be near her family in Dallas, where she became an active member of the Joy Sunday School Class at Park Cities Baptist Church. For fun, Fran loved to share jokes, play bridge, shop, and travel with her friends to Mount Nebo, Ark., and with her family to Amelia Island, Fla. With her beautiful white hair and easy-going demeanor, she was the epitome of genteel Southern hospitality. Fran is predeceased by her parents John Bonds Dulaney and Mayfred Upchurch Dulaney, husband U.S. Marine Capt. Gilford Dudley Taylor Jr., brother Tom Dulaney and sister Carolyn Minieris. She is survived by many family members including son G. Dudley Taylor III and wife Charlotte; granddaughter Amy Catherine Davis and husband Bill; grandson Gilford D. Taylor IV and wife, Katy, great-grandchildren Louis Giles Horn V (Gil), Gilford Dudley Taylor V (Nick), Bo Davis, Will Davis, and Hannah Davis, all of Dallas, Texas; brother John Dulaney Jr.; and sister Betsy Dulaney Held; and numerous nieces and nephews including Arkansas natives Kitty Held Mason, Tom Teeter, Jim Teeter, Joe Teeter, Ruskin Teeter, Mary Elizabeth "Doy" Taylor Branch and R. Dudley Taylor. Graveside services will be Tuesday, June 22, at 1 p.m. at the Old Baptist Cemetery in Center Valley, Ark., near Russellville. Officiating at the service will be Rev. Rodney Schell, Exec. Pastor, Park Cities Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas, and Rev. James Munns, Assoc. Pastor, Pulaski Heights Baptist Church, Little Rock. Arrangements are by Griffin-Leggett Funeral Home (Little Rock) and Humphrey Funeral Service (Russellville). For more information, please see www.humphreyfuneral.com . Memorials may be made to Pulaski Heights Baptist Church.