Phyllis Joan Taylor passed away on June 29, 2021, at the Sheridan County
Long Term Care following a short illness. Joan (pronounced as “Jo-ann”)
was born on her family’s farm northwest of Hoxie, Kansas on December
30, 1940, to Willard and Eula (Hamilton) Farber. Joan was the fifth of
eight children--and the oldest girl. She would joke that she never
recognized herself in pictures because that was the only time she wore a
dress (she usually wore her older brother’s hand-me down overalls.)
Joan attended the Consolidated #2 country school near her home,
starting first grade when she was 5 years old. She graduated from
Sheridan Community High School as valedictorian of her class in 1958 and
received her degree in teaching from Kansas State Teachers College in
Emporia, Kansas in 1961. She taught Algebra and General Mathematics at
Campus High School in Wichita, Kansas. Then she returned to Hoxie to
marry and taught Junior High at the Hoxie Grade School for two years
before staying home to raise her family.
Joan married Ben Taylor on July 27, 1963, at the First Presbyterian
Church in Hoxie. They made their home on his grandparent’s farm 4 ½
miles east of Hoxie. Together, they built Taylor Farms -- he as the
farmer & rancher and she as the one who could have a meal on the
table or out to the field at any time of day, move irrigation pipe, keep
the books, and be on call to help move machinery or cattle. For
several years she worked at the Hoxie and Hill City Sale Barns and
enjoyed meeting all the cattle buyers.
Joan’s true calling was that of an educator. Her youngest sister
was her first student…playing school with her and teaching her sight
words. She was a patient teacher, spending many nights calmly managing
her daughters’ tears and temper tantrums while practicing math flash
cards, timed tests, algebra, and geometry. Even after leaving her
teaching position at the school, Joan tutored students, usually in math,
every year and never asked families for payment. Now, scores of
previous students know how far Train A (traveling 30 MPH) was from the
station when overtaken by Train B (traveling 40 MPH). In recent years,
Joan worked part time at the Hoxie Grade School library. Although
reshelving books could be a chore…she loved being around the kids and
the teachers.
Joan also applied her gifts as a teacher at her church. She taught
Sunday School classes for children and adults, directed the Vacation
Bible School programs, planned Christmas programs and services, and
taught Bible studies. Most recently, she created a self-guided art
museum display depicting the life of Jesus through varied artwork. She
was always looking for new and creative ways to engage her students and
the children of the church…many people still remember the life-sized
camels that she made for the Wise Men to ride during a Christmas
program!
Joan was an active member of her church, serving as an elder,
committee member, and as the head of the Christian Education committee.
She was also a member and officer of Presbyterian Women. She was
involved in many other community activities and committees such as 4-H,
Sheridan County Historical Society, Friends of the Library, and the
Sheridan County Hospital Auxiliary. Joan also served on the USD 412
Board of Education.
In her spare time, Joan battled the weeds in her garden, completed
jigsaw puzzles, and enjoyed cooking for her family. She read and
studied her Bible daily. She challenged herself by learning new crafts
and creative skills…taking classes in quilting, cake decorating, and
furniture refinishing and she loved solving logic and math puzzles.
She discovered that she loved to golf and would practice in the pasture
behind their house. When her grandchildren were young, she accompanied
them on numerous trips, digging for dinosaur bones, watching Civil War
re-enactments, visiting museums and historical landmarks, and taking
more trips to the Rolling Hills Zoo than she could count. She was
willing to do anything with her grandchildren—including riding every
single ride at Disney World --even the Tower of Terror!
Preceding Joan in death was her husband Ben, her grandson Michael
Borella, her parents Willard & Eula Farber, her brothers Bill,
Monte, Ford, and Jim Farber and her sister, Rose (Farber) Wagoner.
Left to grieve her loss are her daughters-- Tamara (Dr. Daniel
Coyne) of St. Louis, MO and Cyndie (Roger Aumiller) of Hoxie;
grandchildren Nicholas Borella (Christine) and Matthew Borella of St.
Louis, MO; Katie (Lance Weis) and Quinn Aumiller of Hoxie; Roman King
(Jill Kraus) of Fort Worth, TX; PFC Ben Aumiller of Twentynine Palms,
CA; great-grandchildren June Weis and Ezra Borella; brother Kyle Farber
of Lodgepole, NE; sister Linda (Bob Randolph) of Berryton, KS;
sister-in-law Mary (Dr. Richard Mosier) of Claremore, OK; many nieces,
nephews, and friends.
Visitation will be at the Mickey-Leopold Funeral Home on Monday,
July 5, 2021, from 9:00 am– 12:30 pm. Funeral services will follow at
3:00 pm at the First Presbyterian Church in Hoxie, KS. Burial will be
in the Hoxie City Cemetery.
The family is asking for memorials to be given in her name to the Sheridan County Benefit Walk.