Catherine Taylor

Catherine McCann Taylor, 89, died Thursday (Dec. 16, 2004) at Provena Villa Franciscan, Joliet.Mrs. Taylor, a Kankakee County teacher for 28 years, was preceded in death by her husband, Aloysius J. Taylor, a retired dairy and grain farmer in the Bonfield area.Visitation will be 2-6 p.m. Sunday at the Clancy-Gernon-Hertz Funeral Home, West Kankakee.A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Monday at St. Patrick's Catholic Church, Kankakee.Burial will be in All Saints Cemetery, Bourbonnais.She was born Oct. 11, 1915, in Joliet, the daughter of Patrick and Clara Schneider McCann.Mr. and Mrs. Taylor were married Aug. 17, 1940 at St. Raymond Catholic Church, Joliet, now the Cathedral of St. Raymond Nonnatus. They are the parents of three children, Edward and Connie Taylor of Arrington, Tenn., Mary Pat and William Barney of Plainfield, Richard and Tammy Taylor of St. Louis, Mo.Also surviving are seven grandchildren, David and Mary Jo Barney, Mary Elizabeth Barney, Mairin Barney and Allen Tobiaski, Meghan Barney and Melissa Barney, Trent Taylor and Curt Taylor. One brother and three sisters-in-law, Edward C. and Lois McCann of Joliet and Mary M. Taylor and Carolyn Taylor, both of Kankakee, also survive; as do nieces and nephews.Patrick and Clara McCann, her parents, are deceased as are her sister and two brothers-in-law, Patricia and Dr. William J. Stephen and Francis J. Taylor.Her first two years of teaching were spent in the primary room of the Bonfield village school. She then taught English and history in the Bonfield High School, which is no longer in existence.Following marriage to Mr. Taylor, Mrs. Taylor spent one year as teacher of the Dunn rural school. In 1944, she returned to the Bonfield village primary room for three more years. She served as principal in the last year there before retiring in 1944.After 10 years in retirement, during which her three children were born, Mrs. Taylor returned to education as a third grade teacher for Bradley District 61 in 1954, serving at Central, West and East schools for a total of 21 years.In 1976, Mrs. Taylor took early retirement as a full-time educator, but served Bradley actively as a substitute teacher for the next 10 years.A former member of Kankakee Business and Professional Women, Mrs. Taylor also held membership in the National Education Association, Illinois Education Association, Kankakee County Retired Teachers, Woman's Club of Kankakee and the Tuesday Book Review group.She was a member of Beta Xi chapter of Alpha Delta Kappa, honorary sorority for women educators; the Council of Catholic Women of St. Patrick Church and the Bonfield Lioness Club, of which she was the charter president. She was a past president of the CCW of St. Patrick's Church, where she served as a lector and a minister of the Eucharist. She was also a member of St. Mary's Hospital Auxiliary. She had served as a hospital volunteer for the past several years.Memorials may be given to Joliet Hospice, the Rev. James Toolan Scholarship Fund at Sts. Patrick and Teresa School or to the Clerics of St. Viator Mission in Belize.

Catherine Taylor

October 11, 1915 - December 16, 2004