Evelyn M.E. Taylor

Evelyn Marie Ella Taylor, 69, of Kearneysville, went home to be with the Lord on Monday, July 10, 2017, at the Clary Grove Nursing Home in Martinsburg.

She was born on May 24, 1948, in Charles Town, and was the daughter of the late Pastor Robert E. Taylor Sr., and Mary L. Parrish Taylor.

Evelyn was an executive assistant for the Brookings Institution in the Economic Studies Department in Washington, D.C., where she retired.

Evelyn loved sewing, gardening, writing, singing, travelling, public speaking, and conducting historical research in the areas of African American history and in particular African American church history. Evelyn has also published numerous books, articles, poems and pamphlets.

Evelyn is a graduate of Shepherd University, Shepherdstown, and received her Master’s Degree from the University of the District of Columbia, in Washington, D.C. Evelyn also attended the Writer’s Center, Bethesda, Maryland, and the Washington Bible College, Lanham, Maryland, where she earned an Evangelical Teacher Training Association diploma.

Locally, Evelyn was a member of the Jefferson County Branch of the NAACP and the former chairman of the Charles Town Historic Landmarks Commission in Charles, Town.

She was of the Christian faith and an energetic and avid follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, acknowledging Him in all of her ways. She has done foreign and domestic mission work spanning the globe from Nova Scotia to India and Kenya and South Africa. Evelyn loved teaching children and majored in early childhood education.

Evelyn is the beloved sister of Robert E. Taylor Jr. (Sarah) and Peggy Taylor Pinkney (Ronald); and sister-in-law, Shirley Harris Taylor, (Franklin); and god daughter, Jeania Ree Moore. She is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews and a host of other relatives and friends.

She was preceded in death by two sisters, Mary J. Taylor (Smith) and Dorothy Rush; as well as two brothers, Phillip Franklin and James Edward Taylor.

Evelyn was a life time member of the House of Prayer Church of God, where she established a scholarship fund in her parents’ names to assist aspiring college bound high school seniors and college students in achieving their higher education goals.

Memorials may be made to the House of Prayer Church of God No 4, 501 W. Congress St., in Charles Town, WV 25414.

Visitation will be held from 9:30 to 11 a.m. Saturday, July 22, 2017, at Fellowship Bible Church, 160 Daniel Road, Shenandoah Junction with services at 11 a.m. immediately following the viewing with Bishop Francis S. Myles, Officiating.

Interment will be in Rosedale Cemetery at 917 Cemetery Road, Martinsburg, WV 25404.

Arrangements by the Melvin T. Strider Colonial Funeral Home, Charles Town.

Please sign the online guestbook and view her obituary at www.mtstrider.com.