In memory of Marianne Patterson Taylor, 1930–2008
Marianne passed away on August 19, 2008. Memorial celebrations were held on Sunday, September 28 in Newton, MA, and in Deerfield, NH on Saturday, October 4. The Taylor family planned the Newton event:
Memorial Celebration for Marianne Taylor
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Trinity Episcopal Church and Parish Hall
11 Homer Street, Newton Centre, Massachusetts
2–3 pm Memorial program in the church sanctuary
3–4 pm Reception in the Parish Hall
4–6 pm Scottish, English, and international folk dancing in the Parish Hall
“Marianne’s family would like to thank all who attended the September 28 program, as well as all who were with us in spirit. It was a glorious event with over 500 in attendance. It was a gray day but it was a joyful gathering of family and friends. The music raised our spirits – the bagpipes, the fiddle, and, later in the afternoon, music by The Pinewoods Band, Tullochgorum, the Strathspey and Reel Society of New Hampshire, and many guests. As part of the memorial program, we invited all to sing one of our mom’s favorite rounds, ‘French Cathedrals.’ We filled the rafters. The photo montage was a treasure trove of images of Marianne throughout her life. Her radiant smile in the photos reminded us of what we found so endearing about her: her generosity of spirit, her inclusiveness, her warmth, and her love of life.
“We are grateful to all those who helped make the event possible, with special thanks going to Kathy Hagelston, Marcie Van Cleave, Tom Pixton, and Jeanetta McColl; and we extend our appreciation to the dancers of Mladost and of the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society, Boston Branch Demonstration Team, both groups beautifully coached by Andy. We will all miss Marianne terribly, but her legacy lives on.”
Download a printable flier (PDF) for the Marianne Taylor Memorial Celebration in Newton, MA.
Details of the Deerfield, NH event:
Remembering Marianne Taylor
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Deerfield Community Church, UCC and Deerfield Town Hall
Church Street (formerly Old Center Road South)
Deerfield, New Hampshire
5:30 pm Memorial service at Deerfield Community Church
Potluck supper following the service
8–11 pm Contra dance in the Deerfield Town Hall
with Tony Parkes, caller and MC; Burt Feintuch, fiddle; Sarah Hydorn, flute; John Carew, guitar; and Bill Zecker, piano.
Guest callers and musicians welcome.
For information, call Sarah Mason at 603-463-4182.
Obituaries
Read the Boston Globe’s 9/8/08 story about Marianne online at boston.com.
TAYLOR, Marianne P. — of Deerfield, NH, formerly of Lexington, MA, at age 78 of sarcoma cancer. She died peacefully at home. In 1975, she was the co-founder of the Folk Arts Center of New England, an incorporated nonprofit educational organization dedicated to promoting interest and participation in the traditional dance, music, and related folk arts of many cultures, and to supporting other groups and individuals with the same mission. She served as its Vice President and, later, Program Director through 2004. Marianne graduated from Sargent College, Boston University in 1951 with a B.S. in Physical Education and a minor in Dance. Beginning in 1953, she taught international folk dance, Scottish and English country dance classes, workshops and school programs throughout the United States and Canada, and as a guest leader at folk dance camps in Japan, Australia, and Switzerland. She received her teacher’s certification in Scottish Country Dance from the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society in 1957, and the RSCDS Scroll of Honour in 2005. For twenty-five years, she was the Artistic Director of the Boston Branch Royal Scottish Country Dance Demonstration Team. She taught a creative dance class for preschoolers in Lexington for over two decades in the 1950s and 1960s and led weekly movement classes at the Perkins School for the Mentally Challenged in Leominster, MA. Ms. Taylor was the recipient of the Boston Dance Alliance’s 2007 Dance Champion Award in recognition of her immeasurable contribution to recreational folk dancing in the Boston area.
From 1995 to 2008, she was a member of the Ralph Page Legacy Committee of the New England Folk Festival Association. A co-founder of the New Hampshire Strathspey and Reel Society, she served as President from 2004 to 2008. Ms. Taylor was an Artist in Residence for primary, middle, and high school programs through the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts.
Ms. Taylor played piano for contra, Scottish, and other kinds of dance since the early 1950s and was a regular member of the Scottish dance band Tullochgorum. She played monthly with the Lamprey River Band at a contra dance in Dover, NH, and sat in as the musician and/or caller at the Deerfield Town Hall Contra Dances, which she began in 1991. She also played regularly with the Strathspey and Reel Society of New Hampshire and several other groups. She appeared as backup on several Scottish/Celtic music CDs.
In 2008, the National Folk Organization honored her with its Preserving Our Heritage Award. An avid traveler in her later years, she co-led a small group tour in Portugal, helped organize two concert tours in Scotland with the Strathspey and Reel Society of New Hampshire, and played piano for a Scottish dance tour on a schooner in the Greek Islands.
She leaves her partner and common-law husband, Don Gorman, of Deerfield, NH, and is survived by her children and their spouses: Micki Taylor-Pinney and Markus Pinney, Tina and Bryant McBride, all of Lexington, MA, Andy Taylor-Blenis and John Blenis of Newton, MA, and Mark and Judy Taylor of Southampton, MA; she was predeceased by one daughter, Joanna Taylor. She also leaves eight grandchildren and her devoted brother, Michel Patterson, Jr., and eight nieces and nephews. Tributes and information can be made and found at www.caringbridge.org/visit/mariannetaylor1. [Note: Marianne’s CaringBridge site has been discontinued. Her CaringBridge Guestbook is available for download as a PDF (642 KB).]
