Dr. Louise Taylor, 86, died peacefully on July 2, 2025, bringing to an end a life dedicated to teaching others.
Louise was preceded in death by her husband of 48 years and fellow educator, Dr. Jerry Taylor. She is survived by her sons, Todd, Joshua, and Nathan, her daughter-in-law, Erin F. Taylor, her grandchildren, Vivian and Landis, her sister, Brenda Larsen, and by Lian, Beeyian, and Ivan Wong, who became like family to her.
She is also survived by many of the students whose lives she touched as a professor of English, both at Campbell College, where she started her teaching career, and at Meredith College, where she chaired the English Department for a decade.
Louise was born in Mount Vernon, Ohio, on February 6, 1939 to Thurman and Dove (Jessee) Todd. Raised on a dairy farm, Louise developed a love for horses, which she shared with her mother and sister. She was valedictorian at Fredericktown High before attending Swarthmore College, where she received her BA in English in 1961.
She became an instructor at Josephus Daniels Middle School in Raleigh while earning her MAT from Duke University in 1962. In 1964—after a summer performing in The Lost Colony at Manteo—Louise stopped by Campbell College in Buies Creek to inquire whether a position might be available. She was hired on the spot and, a few weeks later, got her first taste of collegiate teaching.
It was there she would fall in love with and marry Jerry, who was teaching in the math department. They jointly took a three-year hiatus from Campbell to earn their doctorates at Florida State University. Louise was awarded her PhD in Linguistics in 1969.
Buies Creek would be her home for the next 45 years. She taught English for several more years at Campbell, and also dabbled in theater. She wrote plays in her spare time and directed at least one student-led production.
She joined the faculty at Meredith in 1978, where she was mentored by the late Dr. Norma Rose. Louise taught there until her retirement in 2003, by which time taking her survey course on Western literature had become a rite of passage for Meredith freshmen.
She—along with Jerry and two others—co-authored the Prentice-Hall Encyclopedia of Mathematics, published in 1982. After retiring from teaching, she ran as a Democrat to represent NC’s 53rd House District with a campaign focused on improving the area’s mental health services.
Louise was a member of Memorial Baptist Church and was honored to serve her community. She was a children’s choir director, Sunday school teacher, member of the Harnett County Board of Elections and holiday hostess for anyone who didn’t have a place to celebrate.
She was a Renaissance woman who spoke French and some Spanish, played the piano and guitar, sang in the Harnett County Chorale, and wrote short stories. After retirement she studied and fell in love with painting and visited every museum she could find. She was unbeatable at Trivial Pursuit and loved films, classical music, travel, flower gardens and making Sunday breakfast. Through her sons, she developed a passion for high school wrestling, never missing a match for seven years.
She walked the Camino de Santiago in Spain, sailed the Rhine River, marveled at the diversity of life in the Galápagos Islands, and hiked Raven Rock State Park into her 80s. She could hold the attention of a roomful of grade-schoolers—singing folk songs and recounting tall tales from the Appalachian culture in which both of her parents were raised.
A memorial celebrating her life will be held at Memorial Baptist Church in Buies Creek on Saturday, July 19 at 2 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association.
