Irma Taylor

Madison - Irma Kathryn Taylor, age 86, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, February 25, 2015, surrounded by family at Agrace Hospice, Fitchburg following a short illness.

She was born on December 11, 1928, in the rural town of Minnesota Lake, MN to Ferdinand and Martha (Schattschneider) Heise. The youngest of five children, Irma dearly loved her mother and siblings, Norbert, Ruth, Arno and Harold, who helped raise and guide her after the untimely death of her father when she was three years old. That love has extended throughout her life to her own children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

Irma completed her nursing degree at the Kahler School of Nursing in Rochester, MN and worked at hospitals in Chicago and Cincinnati. While in Ohio, she met her lifetime sweetheart Claude with whom she spent 55 years of happy married life. She and Claude moved to Madison while he completed his training in Anesthesiology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. This was followed by time in the United States Air Force in Amarillo, Texas and at Emory University in Atlanta. They returned to the UW and Madison in 1967 where they have since lived. Once her children were finishing high school, she returned to nursing and taught medical terminology and patient care courses at Madison Area Technical College for twelve years.

Music was a passion for Irma. She taught herself the basics of playing the piano while in Atlanta and improved her skills over forty years of lessons with her teacher Delores Fredrickson. Delores visited Madison monthly to teach and for many years used the pianos in Irma and Claude's living room to give lessons. Irma was a member of the Madison Area Piano Teachers Association for several years and taught many children (and family members) to play.

Her family enjoyed sailing and many great memories were created on the waters of Lakes Mendota, Michigan and Superior. She was an active member of Luther Memorial Church for over 50 years and served on many committees. She prided herself in chairing the search committee that hired organist, director of music and friend Bruce Bengtson who has significantly contributed to the ambience of worship at LM for many years. Other interests included traveling with her sweetie Claude, attending the symphony, bird watching, reading and working crossword puzzles. Mostly, Irma loved her family and friends and she will be sorely missed.

She is survived by her son Claude A. Taylor, III and wife Elaine Taylor and their two children Emily and Evan of Middleton WI; her daughter Cyndi Taylor of Madison WI; her daughter Debra Taylor and her husband Paul Meyerhoff and their two children Kelly and Chris of Davis, CA; her sister-in-law Betty Allen and her husband Charles Allen of Frankfort, KY, and many extended family members.

A visitation will be held from 5:00 until 7:00 p.m. on Monday, March 2, 2015 at CRESS CENTER, 6021 University Avenue, Madison. A funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, March 3, 2015 at LUTHER MEMORIAL CHURCH, 1021 University Avenue, Madison with Pastor Franklin Wilson presiding. A visitation will also be from 10:30 a.m. until the time of service on Tuesday at church. Burial will be held at Forest Hill Cemetery.

Memorials in Irma's name are suggested to Luther Memorial Church at luthermem.org, Madison Symphony Orchestra at madisonsymphony.org, or National Organization for Disorders of the Corpus Callosum at nodcc.org.

The family would like to especially thank Drs. Sean O'Neill, Brad Beinlich, Joshua Medow and their teams at the UW Hospital; the staff at Agrace Hospice and Pastor Franklin Wilson at Luther Memorial for their care of Irma and the family.



Cress Funeral & Cremation Service
6021 University Avenue, Madison
608-238-8406
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www.cressfuneralservice.com