Nancy Carr Taylor

         Nancy Carr Taylor died peacefully on September 8th in Seattle, surrounded by close family members and ending a struggle with breast cancer, which she fought with courage and care for thirty years.  She was a great connector of people, families and groups who was recognized both formally and informally as a dedicated and innovative advocate of women, children and social justice. 

         Nancy is survived by her husband of 47 years, James R. “Jim” Taylor, her sisters Susan (Wes) Biddle and Betsy (Mick) Johnson, her children Becca (Erika Maxx), Jason (Rachel VanDeMark) and Ben (Sheela Kini) Taylor, her grandchildren Serena Kini-Cramer, Ellen, Dahlia and Enzo Taylor, as well as a wide array of friends and family who remember her special energy and carry it with them. 

         Nancy was born on October 27th, 1941, in Chicago to John and Mary Carr of Aurora, Illinois.  Her family settled in the Toledo area where she grew up with her sisters.  She was the valedictorian of the 1958 Anthony Wayne High School class, and was a member of Denison University Phi Beta Kappa society.  She earned a Master of Science in Social Services from the Boston University School of Social Work in 1967. 

         Nancy left Boston in 1967 to join Jim and work in a ground-breaking grassroots anti-poverty program at the Tufts Delta Health Center, which remains the first rural Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) established in the United States, in the town of Mound Bayou, Mississippi, which is noted as the oldest predominately black community in America.  Nancy travelled to the homes of families facing financial, food, health and personal crises, established a support group for teenage and unwed mothers, and maintained a cross-disciplinary discussion group of health professionals.  She described the experience as one in which she "learned much about courage, hope and forgiveness".

         In 1972, Nancy and Jim relocated to Madison, Wisconsin, where they lived for 35 years.  She served in the Dane County Social Services department from 1976 to 2003, starting with voluntary child welfare services with young, single mothers similar to her work in Bolivar County, then mandatory court-related child protection work as budget cuts eliminated preventive programs, and culminating in a community social worker role in the innovative neighborhood-based collaborative service delivery effort she helped plan and implement, Joining Forces for Families (JFF), which began in 1993 and grew to become one of the largest community-based human services initiatives in the nation. 

          Nancy was featured in the Wisconsin State Journal for her work with JFF in 1993, Dane County's Human Services Field Unit honored her with the Evelyn Owens Student/Supervisor Award in 1998, the Dane County Juvenile Court presented her with an Outstanding Service Award in 2003, and she accepted the Wisconsin NASW Distinguished Social Worker of the Year award in 2004.  Upon her retirement, she was dubbed the "Mother of the Broadway-Simpson-Lake Point Community" by residents and co-workers alike.  In 2006, she was presented with the W.E.B. DuBois Advocates Award by the Madison chapter of the NAACP.

         Nancy considered the Joining Forces initiative the highlight of her career and described it as a "bold and energizing collaboration of public services, attempting to be more accessible to families, in voluntary relationships, and responsive to grass-roots issues".  She felt that by working in an office within a housing project that was open to any and all of the community's needs, she had come "to the heart of social work" and was able to build relationships that could address problems before they became crises.  Her philosophy was based on mutual respect and service: "I work for the people who walk through my office door.  They only come through that door if they want to."

         Wherever Nancy lived, she found or created communities and groups that had her at their hub.  In retirement, Nancy and Jim settled near family in Seattle, and she continued to operate in multiple social circles, attending retreats, dinners and breakfasts and exercise classes with a panoply of friends.  She was passionate about politics and participated in marches and political events even in the late stages of her illness. 

         She was a devoted grandmother who loved doing whatever her grandchildren enjoyed, whether it was celebrating birthdays, going to museums, playing backyard baseball or just riding the train for the heck of it.  She volunteered frequently at John Muir Elementary school and is beloved by teachers there.  She always brightened up and greeted anyone who walked into a room right up to the end of her life.  She was a wellspring to her children and a treasure to her husband.  She will be dearly missed by many, many people whose lives she changed and illuminated.

Please join us for a celebration of Nancy's life on October 2nd at 2pm at the Columbia Funeral Home in Seattle.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the following organizations:

Urban Wilderness Works

2923 Rainier Avenue S.

Seattle WA, 98144

http://www.urbanwildernessworks.org/

Dane County Community Fund

c/o Dane County Department of Human Services

1202 Northport Drive

Madison WI 53704

https://danecountyhumanservices.org/jff/how_it_works.aspx

The Hospice Agency in your area

The family wishes to express their continued gratitude for this comprehensive and essential service.