AFRICAN ROOTS: September 2011

Friday, September 23, 2011

BOLDEN TAYLOR

Bolden Taylor was the ninth child of Harris and Susie Taylor. He was born on November 27, 1927. He shared the following commonalities with his father, Harris:

    *Both men were born on November 27.
    *Both men were wise gentle souls who treasured the importance of traditional family values.
    *Both men educated in Louisiana Public Schools.
    *Both men possessed a strong and solid work ethic.

During the era of De jure racial segregation of the Deep South, Harris Taylor maintained employment at the U.S. Veterans Hospital in New Orleans, LA. For over twenty years, Bolden worked at Alan Industries located in Detroit, MI. Fellow employees remember him as a fun loving guy who was always available for new challenges.

Bolden was electrified and excited by the events following WWII. The allies victory inspired him to join the U.S. military. At the age of 17.5 years, he embarked on a worldwide journey of diligence and adventure. It began at his cousin's home, Harold Bayonne, who resided in New Orleans, Louisiana. In this city, he enlisted in the Army. Throughout his two-year military career, he traveled throughout Europe. He was stationed in Landsburg, Germany. The different cultures and languages on the continent fascinated him. During his service to our nation, he received an Army of Occupation Medal and a WWII Victory Medal.

Upon returning to the states in 1947, he decided to settle in the "Big Easy." In this year, he married Grace Farris. Shortly afterward, they relocated to Detroit, MI. Four children were born to this union: Helen, Ellen, DeAnn and Bolden, Jr. Bolden, Jr. preceded him in death. Bolden succumbed to lung cancer at the age of 51. He was gone too soon.

Courtesy of Helen Hutchins

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

I decided to visit my mother on June 23rd before I left for Northern Ecuador. As I was leaving Spokane on a 6:30 AM flight, my husband received the news that Mom had passed in her sleep. I found out at the New Orleans International Airport when I called to tell my husband that I had arrived safely around 2 PM. Mom had Alzheimer's but I didn't know that she was critically ill.

The funeral was on June 28th, the day I initially planned to leave for Ecuador. My flight was rescheduled and I was able to catch my group before they left Quito on June 23rd.

The church was packed. I did not know that Mom knew so many people. When I thought about it later, I realized that Mom knew a lot of people because she worked as a teacher, a social worker and volunteered at her church and in the community.

I noted in Mom's biography that she attended the canonization of Blessed Katherine Drexel in Rome in 2000. When she was a young student at St. Monica Catholic School, she had the opportunity to read her composition, "Building for Eternity," to Mother Drexel. The pastor of Blessed Trinity Catholic Church was not able to officiate at Mom's funeral because he was in Uganda. The substitute celebrant was Father John Cisewski, the principal of St. Katherine Catholic School! We could not have planned this because we did not know there was a St. Katherine Drexel Catholic School.