Laura Lynn Taylor
In the early morning hours of October 24, 2023, Laura Lynn Taylor, 59, peacefully passed away in her sleep in the comfort of her bed. In the wake of this sudden loss, Laura has left behind her husband of 34 years, Greg Taylor, as well as her two children, Matthew and Jessica.
Laura was born to parents, Linda Bishop (née Shipley, affectionately known as “Gram”) and William Earl Brown, and was raised by Linda along with her brother, William “Eddie” Brown, and later on gained a new father figure in her stepfather, Charles “Charlie” Bishop, known to Linda’s family as “Grandaddy”. Laura leaves behind her sister-in-law through Eddie, Elizabeth “Nonah” Brown, her niece Ashley Berry (née Brown), and her great-nephew Isaiah Lee Berry. In addition to her two-legged family, she also leaves behind her black-and-white pet cat whom she loved greatly in her final days, named “Bootsy”.
Born in 1964, Laura graduated from Red Bank High School and earned her bachelor’s degree in Organizational Management from Covenant College in 1997. She worked at various local retail and fast food restaurants in her youth, before eventually working for the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in various positions from 1985 until the early 2000s, and again from 2012 until 2019 following the birth of her two children.
Laura was known throughout the Tennessee Valley thanks to her lifelong friendships and online presence that connected her to many people from her past and present. She was known as a loving mother, a loving wife, and an especially caring daughter, having devoted the last years of her life post-retirement from TVA to the intensive caretaking of her mother and step-father, and of her aunt Judy “Juju” Shipley. Throughout the pandemic, Laura strived to ensure the continued normalcy of her parents’ and aunt’s lives to the best of her ability, and regularly provided care for her mother Linda up until her last days.
Laura was known to many for her passionate religious beliefs, instilled in her from an early age through the Church of God. She later regularly attended Stuart Heights Baptist Church, as well as Dallas Bay Baptist Church for an intervening couple of years. She was known to many for her faith in a loving God, and kept many people both familiar and unfamiliar in her prayers throughout her life. Her devotion to Jesus Christ was one of her most strongly-held beliefs, as was her belief in a world due for change. As she was often fond of saying, “Change is coming”.
Laura met Greg in 1986, after she had almost accidentally started a fire in the Missionary Ridge apartment house of Mayzelle “Mawmaw” Brown, Laura’s paternal grandmother. Greg had been staying there while attending courses at UTC. The two dated for about three years before marrying in 1989 at Trinity-Woodmore United Methodist Church. The two tried to have children for a number of years before eventually having Matthew in 1998 and Jessica in 2000. In addition to her living children, Laura would also want us to mention that she had two unnamed children awaiting her arrival in Heaven.
The swiftness of Laura’s departure so close to the holidays comes as a shock, but her family is grateful that she passed away in her sleep without any signs of pain or suffering. There is no doubt for any who knew Laura that she now joins the rest of her deceased loved ones in Heaven.
Visitation for Laura will be held on Sunday, Oct. 29, at Hamilton Funeral Home in Hixson, from 4-7 p.m.
A chapel service for Laura will be held the following day, on Monday, Oct. 30, also at Hamilton Funeral Home, at 12:30 p.m. Visitors are welcome to stop by any time before the service that day.
Arrangements are by Hamilton Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 4506 Hixson Pike, 423 531-3975.