Yvonne A. Taylor, Advance Woman of Achievement and founding member of Sandy Ground Historical Society, dies at 88

Education, News Media, Yvette Jordan | 0 comments | 4 min read

November 29, 2022

Yvonne A. Taylor, Advance Woman of Achievement and founding member of Sandy Ground Historical Society, dies at 88

By Jessica Jones-Gorman | jgorman@siadvance.com

Yvonne Taylor stands on the steps of Rossville AME Zion Church where she was wed in 1959. Taylor, a founding member of the Sandy Ground Historical Society, died on Nov. 21 at the age of 88. (Staten Island Advance)Staten Island Advance

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Yvonne Ann Taylor, a seventh-generation descendent of Sandy Ground and founding member of its Historical Society, who was recognized as an Advance Woman of Achievement and honored by several national and local organizations for her community service, died on Monday, Nov. 21, at home surrounded by her family. She was 88.

Born Yvonne Ann Usry in the Sandy Ground section of Rossville, a descendant of one of the area’s original settlers, Taylor lived there until she married her husband Elmore in 1959. The couple, who met when they were both senior advisers to the Youth Council of the NAACP on Staten Island, were wed in the Rossville African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Zion Church, where Taylor remained a member until her death.

Yvonne A. Taylor, an Advance Woman of Achievement and founding member of the Sandy Ground Historical Society, dies at 88

In this 1997 file photo, Yvonne Taylor, right, discusses a toppled headstone in Rossville Cemetery with borough historian Dick Dickenson and Julie Moody Lewis, president of the Sandy Ground Historical Society. (Staten Island Advance)

A graduate of Tottenville High School, Taylor earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Hunter College in Manhattan before launching a career in education. She worked for the New York City Board of Education for 36 years, teaching kindergarten through second grade at PS 44 in Mariners Harbor.
Yvonne A. Taylor, an Advance Woman of Achievement and founding member of the Sandy Ground Historical Society, dies at 88
In this file photo, Taylor reads to her students at PS 44 in Mariners Harbor. (Staten Island Advance)Staten Island Advance
After retiring in 1991, she consulted for the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) for 15 years as an adversity trainer, a role that allowed her to travel throughout the United States, working with corporate executives to foster diversity in the workplace.
Passionate about preserving Black history in the borough, Taylor was a founding member of the Sandy Ground Historical Society and worked tirelessly to have the area — which is considered the nation’s oldest continuously inhabited free Black settlement — listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. Her contributions to those efforts were recognized by the Staten Island Advance with a Woman of Achievement award in 1984.
Yvonne A. Taylor, an Advance Woman of Achievement and founding member of the Sandy Ground Historical Society, dies at 88

Taylor, left, poses with Gerald Connolly, Norma D’Arrigo and then-Borough President Tony Gaeta after receiving an award at Borough Hall in this undated file photo. (Staten Island Advance)Staten Island Advance

Yvonne A. Taylor, an Advance Woman of Achievement and founding member of the Sandy Ground Historical Society, dies at 88

Taylor is seen in an Advance file photo from 1996. (Staten Island Advance)

“She was soft-spoken, kind and giving,” Jordan said. “She achieved so much during her lifetime, but her biggest legacy is what a truly wonderful person she was.”
Taylor was preceded in death by her husband of 53 years, Elmore, who died in 2013. Her stepson, Walter, passed in 2004. In addition to her daughter, Yvette, Taylor is survived by her son-in-law, Frank, a granddaughter, Noelle, a grandson, Robert, and three great-grandchildren.
The funeral will be Saturday, Dec. 3, at Rossville AME Zion Church, with visitation from 9:30 to 11 a.m. and a service to follow. The Rev. Jacqueline Nolton will officiate, and the Rev. Janet Jones will deliver the eulogy. Burial will be in Rossville Cemetery; Stradford Funeral Home is handling the services.

https://www.silive.com/news/2022/1/yvonne-a-taylor-advance-woman-of-achievement-and-founding-member-of-sandy-ground-historical-society-dies-at-88.html?fbclid=IwAR0-QvE1F_9W41MH4CTJdifSFLPM52VcMZL2K0kC_AqimrXwotX81wdRtTU

 

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