Joan Taylor

  (Bettie) Joan Citty Taylor, 95, passed to Glory on Friday, June 21. Private burial has taken place at Southwest Park Cemetery in Roswell, New Mexico. Her Celebration of Life will be on Friday, August 16th at 2:00 pm at LaGrone Funeral Chapel 900 S. Main Street, Roswell New Mexico. Reverend Darrell Kelley, Associate Pastor of Trinity Church in Franklin, North Carolina will officiate. Joan’s brother Michael Citty, who predeceased her by days, will be celebrated on Saturday, August 17th. Joan was born on May 25, 1929 to Floyd and Gertrude Citty, in Amarillo Texas. She grew up in Roswell and proudly was the older sister to Jeannie, Nancy, Mike and Steve Citty. She remembered a Wonderful childhood and graduated from Roswell High School. Marrying Lawrence Taylor on October 30, 1948 they went on to have 75 years and 8 months, together, and she recalled it as a Life she always wanted. Together they raised four daughters in New Mexico and Texas. As Lawrence advanced in the electric company they moved to Amarillo for 15 years. There, Joan earned both a Bachelors Degree and a Masters of Art degree from West Texas A&M University. Joan became an English/art teacher after her last daughter started school. She worked for years at Crockett Junior High and Loved it, especially working with the newspaper and annual. Her passion was painting and having one man art shows, where she achieved success and many new friends. Once their youngest daughter was well seated in College, Joan and Lawrence moved back to Roswell. Thrilled to be home, Joan became reinvolved in Betty Boop Club (they started in high school), Aggravation card group, Story League, Birthday club, Book Club, DAR, and First Baptist Church and Sunday School. Joan taught English and Art classes at Eastern New Mexico University. She especially loved being involved in setting up Roswell High School reunions (for their classes) and the One Room Schoolhouse reunions. Joan was always curious and extremely interested in learning - she loved to travel widely through books. Each day she played dozens of games of Solitaire, checked up on everybody on Facebook and the Internet, read a book on her Kindle (completing one book a week, at least), and completed at least 2 New York Times crossword puzzles. Joan researched ancestry very deeply and had hundreds of hours into familial research on both sides going back to The Beginning. She wrote two books - one about her childhood in Roswell and one about family ancestry. Joan loved traveling on business trips with her youngest daughter and granddaughter and soaked in the history in Boston, Salem, and other destinations. She loved to camp, fish, hunt with her husband and family and sit by a river and draw. Some of her favorite years were spent on horseback with her husband, brother and sister in law, enjoying tremendous laughter. Watching movies and playing monopoly, scrabble or dolls for hours and hours with her grands was great fun for her. She played every part and told great stories. At basketball games, school events, 4-H, dance recitals, music performances, sports competitions she was in heaven watching grandchildren. Her Most cherished times involved family gatherings and holidays. Laughter, stories, games, hanging, traditions and catching up on everything was most important. She absolutely loved her friends in each group and looked forward to seeing everyone as often as possible. She deeply loved her husband and considered him to be her home, and proudly loved every daughter/son in law/grandchild/great grandchild. Joan was preceded in death by Daughter Sara, Grandson Adam, Brother Mike, Sisters Jeannie and Nancy, Parents Floyd and Gertrude, numerous cousins and friends. Joan is survived by her husband Lawrence Taylor; daughters Linda (Gary) Cook, Jane (Darrell) Kelley, Laura (Lyle) McSparren; Brother Steve Citty; Grandchildren Catherine (Jon) Earley, John (Sarah) Cook, Caroline (Brian) MacDonald, Mark Wood, Sarah (Eric) Gagnon, Chelsea (Dylan) Mcsparren, 12 Great Grandchildren and 1 Great Great granddaughter. Memorials to her would be reading to your children, cherishing your family, being a true friend, becoming closer to God and Voting. She will be Greatly Missed.