Adelaide 'Addie' F. Taylor, 92
Adelaide Frances Taylor, 92, a longtime Bonner County resident, died at home on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017, of congestive heart failure surrounded by her family on a beautiful fall day at the Taylor tree farm in Careywood, Idaho.
Addie was born on July 15, 1925, in Astoria, Long Island, New York, the youngest of three children, to Charles and Mary Eileen Schubert. She attended Catholic schools and, because she was very smart in math, her advisor nun recommended her for a scholarship to drafting school. She worked for two years at Ford Instrument Company and six years at NBC Studios.
At a skating rink in 1947, Addie met Lee G. Taylor, who was in the Navy stationed in nearby Brooklyn. They dated and then wrote letters to each other when he was shipped out and after he moved back to Havre, Mont.
In 1952, Addie and Lee were married in Astoria and lived in Babylon for six years, where children Michael, Kathleen, Maureen, and Eric were born. In 1957, the family moved to Havre and then to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, in 1958. In 1959 Lee and Addie bought a 167-acre farm in Carey-wood, Idaho, so the big city girl from Queens, New York, became a farm girl in the Wild West. Timothy and Patricia were born during the early years of the farm.
Lee’s mother, Gelena Taylor (“Gram”), came to live at the farm to help when Addie went back to work in 1966 as a highway designer, the first woman hired by engineering at the Idaho Transportation Department in District 1. She retired in 1990 after designing highways for 24 years. One of her later projects was helping design the Veterans Memorial Centennial Bridge over Coeur d’Alene Lake.
Addie enjoyed many hobbies in retirement. She loved working with her hands by crocheting, needlepoint, gardening, and untangling anything. She was a thinker who loved to read mysteries and solve crossword puzzles and jumbles. She was extremely artistic and creative and made many banners and posters for church and organizations. Her steady hand enabled Addie to free-draw letters on boats and signs and write the smallest, straightest-line, most beautiful cursive that post office workers always admired.
She was kind, patient, humble, and hospitable and spent time helping others. Visiting the elderly in nursing homes who were lonely was one of Addie’s favorite activities.
Addie was a member of St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church in Coeur d’Alene for 59 years and lived her faith every day by her devotion to family and her positive encouragement to everyone she met. She always made time for praying the rosary and lighting candles for people in need and greeted everyone with a smile and a kind word.
Addie is survived by children, Mike Taylor of Murray, Kathleen Taylor of Sagle, Maureen Taylor Regan (Don) of Moscow, Eric (Mary) Taylor of Careywood, Tim (Julie) Taylor of Potlatch, and Patricia Taylor (Tilak Ponappa) of Kodagu, India; and grandchildren Rachel, Jake, Robert, Kelsey, Alexander, Anna, Jill, Tommy, Sheila, and Gina; and nine great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Lee Taylor; her parents; her sister, Eileen Mills; and her brother, Charlie Schubert.
Memorial donations in Addie’s honor may be made to Holy Family Catholic School (3005 W. Kathleen Ave., Coeur d’Alene, ID 83815); St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105); or St. Vincent de Paul (201 E. Harrison Ave., Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814).
Viewing will be Friday, Oct. 6, from 4-6 p.m. at English Funeral Chapel in Coeur d’Alene ending with a rosary at 6 p.m. Addie’s funeral Mass will be Saturday, Oct. 7, at 10:30 a.m. at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church in Coeur d’Alene (919 E. Indiana Ave.) with burial at St. Thomas Cemetery followed by lunch at St. Thomas Parish Center at 406 North 10th St.