Arlene B. Taylor

Arlene B. Taylor(Johnson), daughter of the late Olivia Austin and Arthur Newby, was born on November 23, 1944, in Baltimore, MD. She departed this life on November 15, 2016, after a brief illness. Arlene received her education at Baltimore City schools. She attended Elmer A. Henderson #101, elementary school, Clifton Park Junior High, and graduated from the all girls high school, Eastern in 1963. In 1956 the entire family moved to Paris, France as "military brats" and lived there with their parents until returning to the states in 1958. After high school Arlene worked various jobs including Montgomery Wards and Johns Hopkins Hospital, and eventually landed a job with Western Electric (Lucent Technology) as a Customer Service Representative for over 35 years until her retirement in 2004. She was an active and lifelong member of St. Philip's Evangelical Lutheran Church. In 1960, she met Berkeley Thompson and from this union her only daughter Pamela (Johnson) was born on June 29, 1964. Arlene loved to travel and would often visit New York City for a day of shopping and to see the latest plays on Broadway. She also traveled internationally visiting Paris, Germany and Switzerland. Arlene also enjoyed foreign films and the latest blockbusters, often gathering free movie coupons and giving them to family members and friends. She enjoyed volunteering and received a certificate of appreciation for her 5 plus years of volunteering at Center Stage, she also volunteered at the American Visionary Art Museum, and various shelters in and around Baltimore. Throughout her life she exhibited a quick and powerful intellect and a remarkable ability for recalling details from events many of us had forgotten. She would recall events and ask, “Don’t you Remember?” When with her, it seemed as though she knew everyone. She remarkably remembered birth dates, and phone numbers with perfect recall, and this was without using her handy "flip-phone". Arlene loved good food and socializing, it seemed she was always going to a birthday party, anniversary party or baby shower, she made people laugh and was often the life of the party with her wonderful smile that could light up a room. Arlene loved to bake especially at Christmas time. Family and friends far and near, looked forward to her holiday cookies, that tasted like they could have come from the local bakery. She would whip up a cake with a minutes notice for anybody and her peaches and cream was one of her favorite dishes. For Thanksgiving she would make at least 20 sweet potatoes pies which would often have family members "hiding pies" for later consumption, they were arguably some of the best tasting pies this side of the Mississippi. Her pumpkins rolls were also fan favorites and she would often make and store them in the freezer to have available on short notice. She made friends wherever she went and nurtured and held those friendships close to her heart. She knew a little bit about everything and anybody that knew her, knew not to call during *The Price is Right*, *Jeopardy *and *Wheel of Fortune*. She "won" showcases daily by not overbidding and always guessed the puzzle, "winning tons of money and trips", these were all virtual, but exciting none-the-less. She will be missed forever, and is survived by her loving daughter Pamela, she was the "best grandmother ever" to grandsons, Eric, Ky and Malik, and thoroughly enjoyed her great-grandchildren, Ahmon, Ariele, Shayla and Jace, seven siblings, Michael, Carolyn, Rosalind, Willie, Stephen, Clifton and Kevin, and a host of other relatives and friends

Tributes

Arlene B. Taylor

November 23, 1944 - November 15, 2016