Mildred (Gee) Taylor

Mildred Gee Taylor, 92, of Waco passed away, Thursday, August 1, 2019, at Arbor House.  A Graveside Funeral service will be 10:00 am, Thursday, August 8, 2019, at Lorena Cemetery.  A visitation with the family will be from 6:00 to 7:00 pm, Wednesday, August 7, 2019 at Grace Gardens Funeral Home.

Mildred was born August 28, 1926, in Mexia, Texas.  She was the middle child of Drury Whitaker Gee and Eleanor Tatum Gee.  Her early years were spent in east Texas where her father was field supervisor of an oil company.  Mildred graduated from White Oak High School in 1943.  On September 19, 1943, she married her high school sweetheart, Lloyd Hughes Taylor, Jr.  They met when he saw her playing tennis and decided that she was the girl for him.  Their love flourished for sixty-five years.  They were partners in every sense.  He was the "big picture" person while she took care of the details.  At the end of World War II they had their only child, Cris.  In 1946 they came to Waco so that Lloyd, Jr. could attend Baylor University. They stayed long enough for him to earn two degrees.  During those years Mildred worked as secretary to the Baylor registrar.  As her husband followed his chosen career as a college professor, Mildred continued her path of keeping the wheels of academia running smoothly.  When she was only 28, she became the first dormitory director at Lamar University.  She advised the students on everything from study skills, to washing clothes, to mending a broken heart.  Later, when her daughter went off to college, Mildred went to college herself.  She had outstanding organizational and communication skills.  If there were a better way of doing something or solving a problem, she figured it out.  Eventually she used those skills at the Democratic National Committee in Washington, D.C. and at the White House during the Johnson administration.

Although Mildred's main focus in life was family, she had many interests.  She was a huge fan of the Baylor Lady Bear basketball team and rarely missed a game.  She loved to read and enjoyed being a member of Garden Patch Garden Club.  She liked to travel and sometimes joked that her middle initial "G" really stood for "go".  Mildred loved her family and enjoyed her friends.  All her life, people came to her for advice, probably because she listened so well and was so kind.  Her family and friends loved her positive attitude and can-do spirit.  If you needed help or someone to step up and work, she was there.  She was a very special person: loving wife, doting parent, and delighted grandparent.  She will be greatly missed.

She was proceeded in death by her husband, Lloyd Hughes Taylor, Jr.; parents, DW. Gee, Sr. and Eleanor Tatum Gee; her sister, Doretha Taylor and her husband Buck Taylor; brother D.W Gee, Jr. and his wife Dera Gee.

She is survived by her daughter, Cris Taylor Baldridge and husband, Bob of Waco; grandchildren, Robyn Foster and husband, Malcolm, Ryan Baldridge, all of Waco; brother in law, Ray Taylor of Lorena; nephews, Ross Taylor of Lorena, Doug Taylor and wife Bettie of Dallas, Ben Taylor and wife Susan of Midland, Stuart Gee and wife Stephanie of Irving; nieces, Gayle Purks of Knoxville, Maryland, Rebecca Gee of New York, Jennifer Smith and husband David, of Houston, Ruth Tilghman of Lorena, Beth Musgrave and husband Pat of Lorena; and many dear cousins.  Her family is particularly grateful for the kind and gentle assistance provided by Mildred's caregivers from Visiting Angels, Interim Hospice, and at Arbor House.

Memorials may be made to Baylor University or the charity of your choice.