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Esther Taylor-Evans

06/25/1941 - 10/10/2019

Esther Taylor-Evans was born on June 25, 1941, the fourth and last child of Ernest and Virginia Taylor. She transitioned peacefully, surrounded by family and dear friends, at her residence in NY on October 10, 2019.

Esther was born and raised in Harlem, NY. She lived with her parents until their separation in 1944. Then she and her sister, Carol went to live with their mother. Tragically, their mother died in 1951 at the age of 35 and she and her sister joined their brothers who lived with their paternal grandmother, Daisy. Esther attended an all girl high school, Julia Richman, and received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communications from Fordham University. She also studied Arts Administration at Harvard University.

Esther met Charles Evans in New York City through a mutual friend, Sue Simmons, Esther’s roommate. Ironically, Charles and Esther grew up in the same neighborhood, their family members were friends, but they never actually met each other during those younger years. They fell in love and were married in 1966. They made their home in New York City’s Greenwich Village. From this union came one son, Christian Dion Evans. Esther adored her son. She was so proud of him and his accomplishments. As far as she was concerned, Christian knew EVERYTHING. As far as Christian was concerned, his mom was loving, feisty, and they’d often made pinky bets over their disagreements. But most of all, Esther was his cheerleader, an unyielding supporter even when he didn’t believe in himself. In fact, if Esther was your friend, she was also probably your biggest supporter. She happily gained a daughter when Christian married Candace Adams and then Esther was blessed with the 2nd greatest joy of her life, her grandson, Joshua. Life was complete now … Esther was a Mema!

Of course, Joshua had to do something in the performing arts and music was her focus for him. She made sure he had piano lessons, and visited often to expose her grandson to the arts, whether it was a west village jazz performance by one of her many talented friends or young African American violinists at the High Line Theater. As a result, Joshua has performed in the honors jazz band in his high school consortium, playing jazz piano with the top high school music students in the city. As was Esther’s dream, he intends to study both science and music in college, continuing his grandmother’s legacy with his love for the performing arts.

Esther was proficient in many areas and extremely creative. She was the one you wanted on your team because she knew how to get things done and always had great ideas. Theatre was her first love. She was a member of various theatre organizations, including but not limited to New Federal Theatre and Black Theatre Alliance. She was a talented actress, stage manager, unit production manager, and director. In her younger years she worked as a Communications Coordinator at Alliance for Quality Education of New York and various positions at the Performing Arts Center and Citizen Action of New York.

Esther loved children and children loved her. All of her nieces and nephews loved spending time with her. She was such a free spirit and always encouraged them to be adventurous and try new and exciting things much to the chagrin of their parents. She would introduce them to new places, new foods and new experiences. She also had a great sense of humor and her laughter was infectious. NOTHING was more fun than spending time with Aunt Esther. You could always anticipate doing something you never did before or ate before. She was a great cook but finicky eaters, like her niece Melody, always wanted to know what was in the food. Her response was always, “Just try it!” and it was always delicious. When her older brother Ernest passed away at a young age, she made sure that she kept close to his children, often taking them for short periods of time. Even as her nieces and nephews became adults, she continued to be an influential force in their lives; always listening, never judging, respectfully advising, constantly encouraging and forever loving. She was the absolute BEST Aunt ever! Her love for children manifested itself in her work with youth for over 20 years in child care and foster care. She could not resist helping a child in need and often became their guardian. She treated each child as her own, showering them with love and working tirelessly to secure a safe, stable and efficacious environment for them. As a matter of fact, Esther also had the responsibility of training foster parents through the department of DSS.

Esther and her sister Carol were extremely close. When her sister retired to Rosendale, NY in 1989, Esther was already living in Rosendale operating a clothing store in town. Esther lived in Rosendale, then High Falls, and then finally settled in Stone Ridge, always a few minutes away from her sister. There she became very active in her community. To know her was to love her and she was always willing to work for a good cause. She was president of The Women's Club of Rosendale, Marketing Director of the Rosendale Street Festival, Multicultural Board member, African Burial Ground committee member, Ulster County Youth Board member, Human Rights board member, Black History Month committee member and MYKINGSTONKIDS board member. One of her most proud accomplishments was being a founding board member of Harambee. Seeing their vision, the 1st African American festival in Kingston, NY, come to fruition this summer gave her great joy.

Esther was raised in the church so she wasted no time finding a new church home. She joined New Progressive Baptist Church where she became an active and integral part of the church. She attended weekly bible studies and served as a trustee, church calendar organizer and event coordinator. She formed a very close bond with her pastor, Rev. Modele Clarke and his wife, Evelyn. Their friendship went beyond the church as they often went on vacations together. Esther loved her church immensely. The nurturing and loving relationships she forged were truly genuine and subsequently helped Esther fill the huge void she felt after the loss of her sister. Esther’s family is eternally grateful to Pastor Clarke, his wife and the many wonderful people (You know who you are, God knows who you are and We do too!) who prayed for and loved Esther unselfishly until the day she earned her wings.

Esther leaves to cherish her memory, son, Christian Evans (Candace), husband, Charles Evans, Grandson, Joshua Evans, nieces: Stephanie Diallo (Saidou), Rochelle Taylor, Melody Beckles, Adrienne Charles, Deborah Taylor, Sharon Taylor, Roslyn Taylor-Akinware (Cleve), Doreen Taylor, Marcella Whindleton (Donald), Joelle Beckles, nephews: Ernest Taylor(Daphne), Ronald Taylor, James Beckles, Carlton Evans (Rashana), sister-in-laws, Constance Bridges, Darlene Taylor and a host of great nieces, nephews, family and friends.

Esther loved us unconditionally and she will forever be present in our hearts…

“Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”