Dorothy "Dort" Taylor

Dorothy ("Dort") W. Taylor died Friday, February 17, 2012 at Marcus Daly Hospice in Hamilton, MT, surrounded by family. The first child of Oliver and Tena Wierdsma, Dort was born in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin August 27, 1921. Her father owned the Knickerbocker hotel in Milwaukee in the early 1930's before the depression caused the family to move to a farm in southeastern Wisconsin. The family later returned to Wauwatosa, where Dort was an active backstage member of the drama club at Wauwatosa High School and graduated with the class of '39.
In the fall of 1940 Dort entered the University of Wisconsin in Madison. While attending a fraternity party with a male friend, she met her future husband, Douglas (Doug) A. Taylor, of Rhinelander, Wisconsin. Doug had taken his sister Joan out for the evening, and the four agreed that under the circumstances, switching dates might be a "win-win." The rest was history between Doug and Dort. A home economics major, Dort's fondest UW memories always centered on the fun she had with Doug -- and on playing bridge. While at UW she won the university bridge championship, one of her proudest accomplishments, and she remained an avid bridge player for more than 65 years.
When Doug dropped out of UW to join the service as an Army flying instructor at Mowry Field in Middleton, Dort followed. The couple married in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin on June 7, 1943. In 1945, following several Army Air Force base assignments in Texas and elsewhere, the couple settled in Rhinelander, where Doug joined the family Coca-Cola business. The couple's son Brad (nicknamed "Biff") was born in 1946 and daughter Chris (Love) a year later. While in Rhinelander, Dort was active in the United Church of Christ "Priscillas" women's group and served Meals on Wheels for many years. She and Doug loved hosting their many friends at dinner parties, with Dort preparing always simple but well-received meals that freed her up to socialize, and Doug providing comic relief -- often including ribald story-telling and sometimes challenging guests to head stands. During these good times, Dort often urged on Doug's antics playfully, but when he heard her call him "Douglas!" he knew it was probably time to rein it in.
Dort and Doug also loved welcoming their kids and grand kids into their home for any occasion, always with dozens of Dort's ranger cookies at the ready. Her flower gardens and many beautiful cross stitch pieces were also a joy to all who came to her home.
A city girl raising her family in the north woods of Wisconsin, she always kidded that Doug's long memberships on the Board of Governors of the Coca-Cola Bottlers' Association and the National Soft Drink Association were her salvation: These group meetings always included spouses, travel to cities and beautiful resort locations -- and many social gatherings that offered Dort opportunities to expand her wardrobe. She enjoyed wearing pretty clothes throughout her life and was a self-admitted "shoe-aholic."
The Taylor family sold the Coca-Cola business in Rhinelander in 1986. Maintaining their Lake Thompson home as a summer home, Doug and Dort had begun to spend winters in Naples, FL. Doug agreed that the plethora of shopping and dining out opportunities there were Dort's "just reward" for living so many years in the north words, (where, as her mother had put it, "God lost his shoe"). Dort and Doug joined the Naples United Church of Christ, where Dort served as a deacon and volunteered for over 20 years in the church thrift shop. In 2001 the couple became year-round residents of Florida, and a year later Doug passed away there. Dort stayed in Florida for several more years, but her health issues led her children to bring her to Hamilton, MT in 2007 to live in assisted living close to Chris. Mother and daughter frequented Hamilton's lunch spots and Farmers' Market and enjoyed many tender moments as Dort declined. She was a member of the Corvallis United Methodist Church, where she told Pastor Mick Gray faithfully every Sunday "I loved your sermon." In return, he called her his greatest fan.
Dort is survived by her two children, Brad Taylor (wife Fran) of Madison, WI, and Chris Love (husband Ron Skinner), of Corvallis, MT, as well as four grandchildren, Kate, John, Oliver and Megan, and two brothers, Bob and Bill Wierdsma.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Dort's memory to the Corvallis United Methodist Church, Bitterroot Youth Home or Marcus Daly Hospice. The family will gather in Naples, FL later this year to place Dort's ashes next to Doug's.