Martha Collins Taylor, 1918-2024
what a gift her family gave her:
three great-grand-daughters for her to savor in her mid-90s,
walking them to preschool for two years, visiting often,
her love of baking and family
reciprocated in their baking and often bringing her a cake,
one she would enjoy just for herself,
life came hard at Martha and her family,
though it started well in Lovelady, Texas,
where the family was doing well, one grandfather a doctor,
the other grandfather ran the prosperous general store,
a big beautiful home,
both home and store, and sureness, lost to the Depression,
only two people in their high school graduating class went to college,
and, despite the extra challenge her gender gave her,
the University of Texas welcomed her, and she thrived,
her major in English,
the ideas and words from the classics ever-present for her,
a marriage and move to Fort Worth
where she taught English for 30 years,
thousands of students who really loved her,
music a major passion for her, the piano, the harmonica,
the afternoon happy hour of music,
Martha was intelligent, beautiful, fastidious,
always dressed "to the t," presentation vital,
red hair, always keeping her figure,
her memory, her mind, her love of family, of butter,
her sense of humor,
toward the end she said:
"I woke up. I thought I was dead. I wasn't."
on her 100th birthday, she looked like Miss America,
when it was time for her to go, she went with grace,
those who knew her still bask in the glory
of who Martha Collins Taylor was,
and still is for them.
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