Betty Joan Taylor; Church Organist and Elder

Longtime Ventura resident Betty Joan Taylor died last week after a six-month fight with cancer. She was 71.

Taylor was born Aug. 23, 1927, in McKeesport, Pa., but spent her childhood in York. After World War II, she moved to Ventura with her sister and attended Ventura College.

As a young professional, Taylor worked for the Star-Free Press. She later launched a business with her former husband, James F. Taylor, whom she met while playing organ for their church choir.

“Music was the bond that drew them together,” said longtime friend Dolores B. Taylor, who was once married to Betty Taylor’s stepson.

Taylor was a longtime member of Oxnard First Presbyterian Church and an ordained elder. She was also chairwoman of the Worship Committee and an accomplished musician who wrote a prayer response used by both the Oxnard church and her former church in York.

Taylor loved organ music and, until her illness prevented her from going, never missed a concert of the great theater organ at the Arlington Theater in Santa Barbara. She was also a member of the society that helps maintain the instrument.

“That was her dream, not to miss a single concert,” said Dolores Taylor, who drove Betty to the concerts. “We’d sit right up front; she really enjoyed that.”

Before her illness, Taylor was assistant manager of Buenaventura Mobile Home Estates and a receptionist for The Victorian in Ventura.

She is survived by her daughter, Lynn Sexton of Covina; stepson James A. Taylor of Rosarito Beach, Mexico; nephews Shane and Bronner Smith of Ventura; and three grandchildren: James and Donald Taylor, both of Ventura, and Kenneth Taylor of Anaheim.

Funeral services will be held today at 3 p.m. at Oxnard First Presbyterian Church, with the Rev. Jim Bain officiating.

Burial will follow in the memorial garden at the church.

Arrangements are under the direction of Ted Mayr Funeral Home, Ventura.