Jean Gay Pratt Taylor

Grandma Taylor has always been the ultimate example of selflessness and self discipline. In her later years, we would visit her at her townhouse in Orem where she would tell us about the movie she was watching (always one of the classics). She treasured the privilege to watch a movie in the comfort of her own home so much, that she would only allow herself to watch a portion of the movie each day. So the entertainment of a two-hour movie would last four days. If we took her some chocolate (her favorite) she would only allow herself a bite or two each day, making it last longer.

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She taught me the importance of always having something to look forward to, and the importance of caring for your possessions. This was engrained in her from a young age, growing up without much in the way of money or opportunity in the Mexican Mormon colonies. The stories of her saving chocolate wrappers or orange peels just so she could smell them later will always stick with me. She took nothing for granted and was grateful for everything.

Fond memories include avocado toast, kumquats and a basement full of goodies at the Camarillo, CA home, as well as the plastic wrap on the seats of one of her beloved Honda vehicles. Grandma's legacy will always be a part of me. To honor her I'll work harder, demonstrate more self mastery and flash the squinty-eyed Taylor smile often.

Jean Pratt Taylor passed away on January 17, 2008 at her home in Orem. She had been a resident of Orem for five years. Jean was born in Colonia Dublan, Chihuahua, Mexico on 11 March 1915 to Erastus Leon and Grace Zenor Pratt. She lived in the Mormon Colonies in Chihuahua, Mexico until the age of seventeen when she left to be secretary to her uncle, S. Dilworth Young, Scout Executive in Ogden, Utah. She later attended BYU and married Harold W. Taylor, also of the Colonies, on 12 August 1938 in Colonia Dublan. Their marriage was later solemnized in the Mesa AZ Temple. After living in Mexico D.F., Always have something to look forward to. San Luis Potosi and Monterrey, Mexico, the couple moved to Oxnard, California in 1945 and later built their home in Camarillo, California where they lived for 38 years. Harold died at the age of 83 in Camarillo, February 1993.

Jean was office manager for John S. Broome at Rancho Guadalasca, Oxnard, California for 27 years and was also an executive secretary at the Naval Missile Center, Point Mugu, California for seven years. Harold was employed at the Oxnard Air Force Base in Camarillo and at the Pacific Missile Range, Point Mugu, California.

Jean served for many years in executive and teaching positions in the LDS Church: MIA president, Primary president, Stake Public Communications Director and Stake History Specialist. She has been serving in the extraction program since 1991 in the Camarillo California Stake, Lindon Stake and Orem Suncrest Stake and as a part-time service missionary at the Utah Regional Family History Center in the Harold B. Lee Library at BYU.

She was preceded in death by a son, Terry in 1946, and three brothers, Rollo, Norris and Andre and by two sisters, Marguerite and Raechel.