Louise Elizabeth Taylor
January 1, 1920 – November 27, 2020

As the clock struck 12, signaling the start of 2020, the phone began to ring for Louise Taylor. Later that day, there would be a party in her honor, but her family and close friends were too excited to wait for the afternoon festivities. Because this day, New Year's Day, Louise celebrated her 100th birthday.

And now at the tip end of 2020, we acknowledge her long life, her love of family and faith, her personal brand of humor and gaiety, and her everlasting kindness and compassion.

Louise came into the world with her twin brother Luther ("Buddy") on New Year's Day, 1920 in Danville, IL. Her father, Luther Spratt ("Papa") and mother Mable Spratt introduced the twins to their three older sisters: Willia, Tillie and Mittie.

As a young girl, the Spratts moved several times as "Papa" enthusiastically and devotedly built small Pentecostal congregations. From her birthplace of Danville, IL, the family moved to Papa's hometown of Paducah, KY. From Paducah, the family travelled up north to Detroit, MI. Louise attended both elementary and Miller Junior High School in Detroit. It's interesting to note because of the importance of Miller Junior High to the Black community, the school has since been recognized and designated a State of Michigan Historic Site and listed on the National Register of Historic Site in 2011.

Detroit was also where Louise and her family weathered the Great Depression of the 1930s. Hard times demand creative measures. Papa and his children regularly kept the family and the church afloat by making and selling small handmade pies on the streets of Detroit and at church. Louise always told her family that the work was relentless, but it was the hard work that helped them make it through the hard times.

Hard times are always followed by better times. In the mid-to-late 1930s, Papa moved his family to Lansing, Michigan and started the original Bethlehem Temple on Olds Avenue. That church grew (and is now called Bread House on South Washington Avenue.) The bigger church with the larger congregation settled the Spratt family in Lansing, MI.

By this time Louise was in high school and graduated from Central High in 1937. It was Dr. J.W. Sexton who delivered her commencement address.

In 1947, ten years after receiving her HS diploma, on a hot July day Louise married Samuel Barnes at Bishop Handcock's church in Detroit. That marriage created four girls; three born in Detroit and one born when the Barnes family move to Lansing, Michigan.

It was Lansing, Michigan that Louise called home for the rest of her life. After 14 years of marriage, Louise's marriage ended in divorce. But with that divorce, Louise vowed to give her girls a stable home filled with all the things she valued; faith first, then personal responsibility mixed with compassion and empathy, sprinkled with a heavy dose of fun and laughter.

Never afraid of hard work, Louise approached her jobs first at Michigan School for the Blind and then Michigan State University with energy and enthusiasm. Always perceptive to the needs of others, Louise noticed when students, (especially African-American students) needed a special touch or additional attention. With regularity, Louise invited the students into her home, feed them a homemade meal, combed and braided hair, or in some way showed them extra love.

Busy working outside the home and raising four daughters, she also found time for civic and social organizations and activities, including supporting her sister with articles for The Michigan Chronicle, NAACP, the Urban League, The Women's Guild at Trinity AME Church, and lending her valued opinion to Dr. and Mrs. Clifton Wharton for social events and gatherings at Cole House on MSU campus.

And, of course, Louise carved out time for her hobbies: decorating (and redecorating!) her home, gardening, cooking, travelling, and shopping (and more shopping!)

It was nine years after her divorce, Louise met and married Roland Taylor. They lived happily in the Groesbeck area in Lansing until he passed in 1997. After his death, Louise occupied some of her time by taking on a part-time position at Sam's Club in Southwest Lansing.

In the last season of her life, Louise found peace, comfort, and restfulness in her unwavering walk with the Lord, her loving family, and loyal friends.

She passed peacefully late in the afternoon as the sun was setting on Nov. 27th, surrounded by two of her daughters in the very room she had slept in for over forty-five years.

Louise was preceded in death by her second husband, Roland Taylor and her first husband, Samuel Barnes.

Louise's passing marks the end of a generation. She was preceded in death by her mother, father, twin brother, and three sisters.

She will be deeply missed and is survived by: her four daughters and their partners, Hanifa (Mohammed), Mary (Wendell), Penny (Solomon), and Beth; her grandchildren, James ("JJ,"), Jeffrey, Fatima, Chad, Brandy, Alan, Morgan, and Jordan; along with a host of great-grandchildren; great-great grandchildren; living nieces and nephews, Toya, Donna, Carl, and Barbara Jean; and close friends.

The family would like to recognize the loving care provided by Vickie Monroe, mom's caregiver for the last seven years of her life. From every member of our family, we give you a heartfelt thank-you for making our mom feel safe and special in your care. And we thank-you for consistently helping us stay standing when times were hard and for regularly sharing our love language of laughter.

In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting a charitable donation in her name be given to the Alzheimer's Association.

Because of the pandemic, there will be no traditional funeral services held at this time.

"And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ." Ephesians 4:32