IN MEMORIAM: Mary Ann Taylor, Bexley Hall ‘87

The Rev. Canon Mary Ann De Metsenaere Taylor, Bexley Hall Class of 1987, died on November 6, 2024, from natural causes at her home in Frankfort, Maine at the age of 88. 

Mary Ann De Metsenaere was born May 16, 1936, in Newark, NY. She adored her father, Achiel, a caretaker at a private estate, who never lost contact with his family in Brugge and Ghent in Belgium. Mary Ann was proud of her Flemish heritage, having visited and stayed in contact with her cousins, Alice Stanley De Metsenaere and David De Metsenaere in Belgium. Her mother, Emma Hurley, ran her own catering business. Mary Ann was an only child but had many cousins nearby. She spent her childhood summers swimming in Sodus Bay on Lake Ontario, where she said she felt more comfortable than on land. She graduated from Newark High School, and The College of New Rochelle. Her first job was for Jackson & Perkins Roses, hybridizing delphiniums with pollen. 

At age 22, Mary Ann became a member of the order of the Sisters of Mercy and taught literature and journalism at Our Lady of Mercy High School in Rochester, NY. After ten years, she left the order and joined the Episcopal Church. She became Director of Personnel at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, where she met a new faculty member, Frank Carter Taylor. They were married in 1978. Still feeling called to ministry, and with hearty encouragement from Carter, Mary Ann earned a Master of Divinity degree from Bexley Hall Episcopal Seminary at Colgate Rochester Divinity School in 1987. The Bishop appointed her lay reader at a Spanish speaking congregation in Rochester, NY, where she learned Spanish and served for two years. She was ordained a priest in the Episcopal Diocese of Rochester when she was 53 and served as the Rector at St. John's Episcopal Church in Honeoye Falls, NY, until 1994, when she and Carter followed their lifelong dream and moved to Maine where she became the Rector at St. James Episcopal Church in Old Town. During her years there, she and Carter enjoyed time at their nearby cottage where she was able to return to her lifelong love of lake swimming. After retiring from St. James in 2007, she and Carter moved to Frankfort. 

That retirement period was brief, however, as Bishop Chilton Knudsen asked her to return to ministry at St. Francis by the Sea in Blue Hill, where she served for 2 1/2 years. After a second retirement, she became the Pastoral Associate at St. John's Episcopal Church, Bangor, Maine, for six years. Her last retirement ended on her 80th birthday when she was offered the position of Interim Priest in Charge at St. Margaret's Church, Belfast. It was a match made in Heaven. On May 18, 2024, she celebrated the 35th anniversary of her Ordination to the Priesthood in the Episcopal Church, a testament to her unwavering faith. 

Mary Ann was proud to be part of the first generation of women who were ordained priests in the Episcopal Church, and was admired for her deep wisdom, generated in part by her knowledge of Christian and Episcopal theology. Erudite sermons, scholarly discernment, clear judgment, and imaginative storytelling enhanced each parishioner's understanding of Christianity. By beginning her sermons (often without notes) with stories or questions, she would prompt listeners to find their own answers through self-reflection. Mary Ann's senses of irony and humor also endeared her to listeners and friends. Over the years, she mentored and supported many women who had overcome addictions, earning their lifelong gratitude and admiration for the sense of fulfillment she had given to their lives. Carter passed away in December 2016, after a long illness. Mary Ann's attention could now be focused on enjoying the company of many old and new friends playing masterful bridge, book club sessions, regular lunch gatherings, and visiting with other retired clergy. She made annual trips to visit old friends and cousins in Rochester as long as her health allowed.

She is survived by Carter's children, Peter and Lynn Taylor; her cousin, Mary Ropka in Charlotteville, Virginia; and many other beloved cousins. Profound thanks from her family and friends, for the generous loving care given by Lori Dargon and her family, for two decades of neighborly friendship, and stepping in as a lifeline in the last years of her life. 
A service will be celebrated on December 12 at 10 a.m. St. Margaret's Church in Belfast, Maine, with the Episcopal Bishop of Maine, the Right Reverend Thomas Brown, the Reverend Barbara Briggs of St. Margaret's, and the Reverend Mary Carson of St. James Episcopal Church in Cincinnati, Ohio. Memorial gifts may be given in her memory to St. Margaret's Church, 95 Court St., Belfast, ME 04915.

From an obituary Published on November 19, 2024, in the Bangor Daily News.

https://obituaries.bangordailynews.com/obituary/rev-mary-ann-taylor-1092298890