SHELBURNE — When the Bridge of Flowers reopened this week, it did so without one of its longest, dedicated supporters, Marion Jane Taylor.
Taylor died on Feb. 23, 2026, at the age of 93, after a lifetime of community service. Taylor was involved in the Girl Scouts, the Shelburne School Committee, and later the Mohawk Trail Regional School Committee, the Shelburne Falls Area Women’s Club and the Bridge of Flowers. She was even named the Greenfield Recorder’s eighth Citizen of the Year.
According to Recorder archives, Taylor believed that volunteerism and giving back were essential.
“Volunteerism is an important part of life in Franklin County,” she said while accepting the Citizen of the Year award in December 1990. “Without volunteers, our towns and community services would not be in the fine shape they’re in.”
John Taylor, Marion’s son, said she “was something special,” and was heavily involved in the town through efforts to support beautification, education and other community service projects. While she was not a “townie” and was born in Pittsfield in 1932, she was heavily involved in her adopted community.
“She played the long game; she didn’t expect things to be done overnight,” John Taylor said. “She didn’t change things overnight, but she certainly accomplished a lot over her lifetime. She plugged away at things to hopefully make things better for the community.”
Carolyn Wheeler, a longtime friend of Marion Taylor, said she “did everything for the town and for her family.”
“You can’t go to Shelburne Falls without seeing something Marion touched,” Wheeler said. “She just did so much.”
Marion Taylor first moved to the region in the 1950s to work as executive director of the Franklin County Girl Scout Council, and during her time living in Greenfield, she met Gordon Taylor, whom she married and had two sons with. In Shelburne, she was also involved in founding the Village Information Center, the First Congregational Church, the Shelburne Grange and the Mary Lyon Foundation, and she served as the chair or president of many town boards and organizations over the years.
Wheeler added that Marion Taylor was an avid painter and gardener, and had owned and run Blackmer Insurance Agency with her husband. She always had an even-keeled temperament and was a joy to work with, even on the days after a particularly contentious school committee meeting the night before.
“She had this endless energy and a wonderful personality,” Wheeler said.
On the Bridge of Flowers website, Shelburne Falls Area Women’s Club members also said Marion Taylor had “tireless energy.” She served as treasurer and de facto archivist, and spearheaded fundraising efforts, including the annual plant sale and a Moonlight Magic cookie sale.
“All who knew her were inspired by her deep commitment to the community as well as to the Bridge of Flowers,” Bridge of Flowers Committee Chair Annette Szpila wrote. “She was always the first to volunteer and the last to shut out the lights, even in her advanced years. Marion Taylor is greatly missed and fondly remembered.”
The Shelburne Falls Area Women’s Club plans to include a period of time for “remembering Marion Taylor” on the agenda for its April 8 meeting.
John Taylor said his mother was never looking for attention or praise. Rather, she did everything she did for her community because she appreciated it and there was nowhere she would rather be than in Franklin County.
“She really didn’t have any interest in going anywhere else,” Taylor said. “If you interviewed her, she’d say it wasn’t about her. It was about being a part of a group of people.”
