Doris Taylor

Funeral service at First Baptist Church, Walters, OK, Saturday, March 4, 10:00 a.m., Rev. Jay Driskill officiating. Interment in the Walters Cemetery under the direction of Hart-Wyatt Funeral Home in Walters. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that memorial contributions be made either to the Walters Public Education Foundation, 418 South Broadway, Walters, OK 73572 or to the Walters Cemetery Association, P.O. Box 485, Walters, OK 73572.

Doris Nance Taylor was born to Mary Lydia (Berry) and Walter Elvis Nance, August 6, 1934 at Walters, OK and departed this life February 28, 2017, in Marysville, KS, at the age of 82 years, 6 months and 22 days.

Doris grew up in the Walters community in Cotton County, OK. She attended Walters High School from which she graduated in 1952. On February 15, 1953, she married the love of her life, Clinton Harold Taylor of Walters. They were married at Emerson Baptist Church located west of Walters, and were married 53 years at the time of his death in 2006. Harold and Doris initially made their home in Walters where she worked at the Cotton Electric Cooperative. In 1962, Doris and Harold moved to Lawton, OK, where they resided for seven years before moving back to Walters.

After moving to Lawton, Doris attended Cameron College in Lawton, OK for two years and then transferred to Oklahoma College for Women (now the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma) in Chickasha, OK where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1968. Following her graduation from Oklahoma College for Women, Doris taught elementary school in Lawton and later in Walters while raising her three children. She was proud to have lived the past 40 years in the house she and Harold built on the exact site of the house she was born in.

In addition to her love of teaching, Doris immensely enjoyed working alongside Harold in their numerous business ventures throughout her lifetime. During the 1960s, she and Harold ran their custom harvesting business, which would take them from Oklahoma to South Dakota during the summer months each year. In 1968, they purchased Lawton L.P. Gas Company, which they jointly owned and operated until Harold's death in 2006. Following Harold's death, Doris continued to run the propane company as a family-run business until 2014. From 1969 until Harold's death, Doris and Harold were also engaged in farming and ranching in Cotton County. In 1974, they purchased the Western Auto Hardware Store in Walters, which they later renamed Taylor Hardware. She and Harold owned and operated Taylor Hardware on Broadway Street in Walters for 27 years until it was destroyed by fire in May 2000.

Doris was a Christian and an active and faithful member of the First Baptist Church of Walters. She also enjoyed attending meetings of the Dahlia Flower Club. Consistent with her love of teaching, Doris and Harold were co-founders and long-time supporters of the Walters Public Education Foundation.

Doris was a devoted wife, mother and grandmother. She loved spending time with her children and grandchildren and would share her stories about her grandchildren with anyone willing to listen to them. Doris also enjoyed visiting with her numerous friends and relatives in the Walters community.  

She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Clinton Harold Taylor, and her son, Layne Harold Taylor. Survivors include her daughter, Michelle Blumer and her husband, Michael Blumer, of Marysville, KS; one son, Lyndon Taylor and his wife, Pamela Taylor, of Oklahoma City, OK; her eight grandchildren, Emma Blumer, Tara Blumer and Konner Cue of Marysville, KS; Brandon Taylor of Palm Beach, FL; Caitlyn Taylor of Manhattan, KS; and Lauren, Kristen and Preston Taylor of Oklahoma City, OK; her brother, James Thacker, of Walters; a sister-in-law, Louise Busse, of Lawton; and numerous nieces, nephews and other relatives.