Marcelena Mae Hill Taylor

Marcelena Mae Hill Taylor passed away in the early morning hours of June 12, 2017 at the age of 95. Born in West Monroe, LA, Marcelena was the proud mother of five children, and “Mammaw” to 16 grandchildren and another 16 great-grandchildren. Her love of country was a prominent arc throughout her life, including during her marriage to Col. Ralph Taylor, a pilot and member of the 509th Composite Group. During her husband’s military service, the Taylor family held residence at a number of military bases, after which the family returned to Monroe where Marcelena would embark on a career in real estate while raising the children.

In her life’s third act, Marcelena became a prolific fixture of the stage, tap-dancing with senior dance troupe The Golden Girls and acting in plays at the Little Theater, where she also served as a board member. She continued acting and tap-dancing well into her eighth decade.

Marcelena had many passions, including chocolate, coffee after dinner, and speed-reading anything she could get her hands on. Above all else, her favorite pastimes were conversation, story telling, and sharing laughs with her friends and family. She was famous for her quick wit, her gentile charm, and her trademark feistiness. Marcelena was the star of every stage and room, instantly recognizable for her coiffed red French twist hairstyle, her perennial elegance, her never-ending willingness to ham it up, and her clucking laughter that was never in short supply.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Dr. Courtney Hamilton Hill and Ida Mae Hill; her brother, Courtney Hill; her sister, Evelyn Moore; her former husband, Col. Ralph Russell Taylor, II; her beloved parakeet “Sparky”; and many friends.

She is survived by: her five children, Ralph Russell Taylor, III, Marcelena Hill Taylor Everett and husband Danny, Wayne Taylor and wife Darcy, Randolph Hill Taylor and wife Amy, and Margaret Livingston Taylor Varnado and husband Jim; grandchildren, Russell and Nikki Taylor, Gregg Taylor, Scott and Laura Everett, Cara and Courtney Henderson, Craig and Natsumi Everett, Laura Everly, James and Susy Varnado, Amanda and Trey Miller, Sara Varnado, Emily Marcelena Varnado, Eric Taylor, Christin and Stuart Oliver, Julia Taylor, Garrett Taylor, Grant Taylor, and Lane Taylor; as well as 16 grandchildren.

Pallbearers will be Russell Taylor, Gregg Taylor, Scott Everett, Courtney Henderson, Craig Everett, Eric Taylor, Stuart Oliver, James Varnado, and Trey Miller. Honorary Pallbearers will be Garrett Taylor, Grant Taylor, and Lane Taylor.

Funeral services will be held at 2:00 PM on Friday, June 16, 2017, at Mulhearn Funeral Home in Monroe, LA. Marcelena will undoubtedly be late, as is her tradition. Visitation will also be held at Mulhearn Funeral Home, beginning at 1:00 PM on Friday, June 16, 2017. Interment will be in Riverview Cemetery.

Memorials may be made to the Strauss Theater Center, the Monroe Garden Club, and the Ouachita Council on Aging.

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Mulhearn Funeral Home
Sterlington Road
Monroe, LA