OBITUARY Ellen Taylor September 22, 1919 – September 11, 2018 Just days before her 99th birthday, Ellen Taylor went to her forever home in heaven. Left behind to celebrate her life and to mourn her passing are her six children: Joan (Tom) Grover of Belleville, KS, John (Althea) Taylor of Richmond, MO, Ken (Nancy) Taylor of Clive, Janet Taylor of Urbandale, Bernie Taylor of Des Moines, and Debby (Kelly) Canfield of Adel. In addition, she leaves 16 grandchildren, 25 great grandchildren, and eight great-great grandchildren, two sisters, Dorothy of Las Vegas and Iva of Chicago, along with many nieces, nephews and countless friends.
She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, John; grandson, Drew Nour; parents, Rose and Joe Montgomery; eight brothers; and three sisters, including her twin, Evelyn Darby. Ellen was well known for her love for God, family, and the St. Louis Cardinals. She was happiest when the Cardinals were ahead by several runs and we often heard her yelling at the TV for the Cardinals batters to “just hit the ball!
” Family members also looked forward to any holiday meal because that meant Ellen was baking her deliciously famous cinnamon rolls. Ellen was born in Albia, IA but was raised in the small coal mining town of Williamson, IA where she was known as “one of the Montgomery twins”. She left school at the age of 16 to help support her large family.
She worked as a nanny in Rock Island and Marshalltown before returning home where she met her future husband, John. She began her married life on a farm outside of Williamson. In January of 1956 the family loaded up the Plymouth, hitched on a U-Haul and moved to Anderson, CA.
Ellen DID NOT like California so in January of 1957 all eight of us again loaded in the Plymouth, complete with a different U-Haul, this time landing in West Des Moines. Later they moved to Urbandale where Ellen worked at Shoppers World, a discount store at Merle Hay Plaza. She later retired from Weeks & Leo Cosmetic Company in Urbandale.
Ellen suffered a stroke in 2016, and has lived the past two years as a resident at Glen Oaks Alzheimer’s Care Center in Urbandale. The family thanks the staff at Glen Oaks for their love and care given to Ellen. We also want to thank the staff and volunteers of HCI Hospice for their wonderful support and care.
Visitation will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, September 13, 2018 at Creekside Church, 2743 82nd Place in Urbandale, IA. Funeral services will be held 1 p.m. Friday, September 14, 2018 at Creekside Church, with burial at Resthaven Cemetery in West Des Moines. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be directed to Pine Lake Camp, 32203 230th Street in Eldora, IA 50627 or to a charity of your choice.
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