(This week The Columbian-Progress spotlights Georgia Taylor, 92, of Columbia.)
Q: When and where were you born?
A: I was born in Columbia on July 10, 1925.
Q: Who were your parents?
A: My parents were George and Cora Britton.
Q: What did your parents do for a living?
A: My father was an undertaker; he ran the Britton Funeral Home here in Columbia. He also had one in Bogalusa (La.) and one in Brookhaven. My mother was a beautician.
Q: Do you have any brothers or sisters?
A: I have two brothers and one sister.
Q: Where did you attend school?
A: I attended school here in Columbia. There was only 12 of us that graduated in 1944; there were 10 girls and two boys. Then I went to Rust College in Holly Springs.
Q: What do you recall most from your childhood?
A: I was a very busy young person. Everyone called me “the goer.” I was very active in the programs in school. I remember my mom would always tell me, “Smile and the world will smile with you.”
Q: Where have you lived?
A: I lived in Columbia, Brookhaven, New Brunswick, N.J., and moved back to Columbia when my mother got sick. I didn’t want her to go into a nursing home. I moved back in 1972 and she passed in 1979, so I had already established myself back in Columbia.
Q: What was your husband’s name? What did he do for a living?
A: John Taylor. He was in the service then when he finished school, he started working for my father. He took over the funeral work.
Q: Do you have any children?
A: I have three children; one daughter, Helen, and two sons, Gregory and John Jr.
Q: Do you have any grandchildren?
A: I have four grandchildren. Each one of my sons has a son and my daughter has a son and a daughter.
Q: What made your spouse the one for you?
A: Truthfully, I believe it was God’s desire. I’m more of a business lady and always thought more along the lines of business. I wasn’t really that much interested in marriage, but we agreed on so much and got along really well. We were married 53 years until he died in 2003. It was a wonderful marriage. We had a real, true mutual understanding, and we had the three children.
Q: Where do you attend church?
A: Columbia Valley United Methodist Church. I’ve always been very active in the church and they all know me as “Momma PeeWee.”
Q: Where did you work?
A: When I left Rust College, I started teaching. I taught for six years. That’s when I met my husband, John. He went into the service after the 11th grade to get his mother a house. When he came back to finish school, that was my first year teaching. I was a nurse’s aid when we lived in New Jersey.
Q: Do you do a lot of traveling?
A: I traveled a lot all over the U.S. I went to Chicago and we would go to New York when we lived in New Jersey. The one place I never did go to was California.
Q: What keeps you busy these days?
A: The biggest thrill in my life is providing, giving and making people happy. Anything I can do to make people happy, I try to do. Everyone knows me down at McDonald’s. I have to eat before I take my medicine so every morning I go there and get my hot muffin and decaf coffee. They know me so well that when they see my blue car come, they have my stuff ready to go. It’s my routine every day. I call my son in New Jersey every day in McDonald’s. Then I go pick up my three ladies and we go play bingo.
Q: How would you like to be remembered?
A: I would like to be remembered as a person who will always be thought of as an outstanding person. I hope people say that I was a good lady or one wonderful woman that was a blessing to have lived around. The reason I’m still here at 92-years-old, God left me here to be of service to Him and a representative for Him. I realize that and I just thank Him for it and smile.
Q: What advice would you like to give people on staying healthy?
A: I would tell them to stay in daily routines. Whatever schedule you have, stay on that schedule. Do the same thing every day to keep the body acting in a certain way. When you eat at a certain time and take your medicine at a certain time, your body gets used to that. Keep a regular schedule that has always worked in your life. Don’t change it. Do what Momma PeeWee has been doing and keep a regular schedule.
— Joshua Campbell
Pictured Above: Georgia Taylor, 92, can be spotted everywhere around Columbia on a daily basis. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
