SHELBURNE — Outside the Shelburne Falls Visitor Information Center, a new bench made by Franklin County Technical School students honors the late Marion Taylor, former president of the center and a “visionary” of the village.
The bench, created by students in the welding and fabrication program, was completed earlier this month. The bench was started in May and placed outside the visitor and information center at 75 Bridge St. on Friday morning.
Four students and instructor John Passiglia joined visitor center volunteers and Marion Taylor’s son John Taylor and daughter-in-law Sherry Taylor to place the bench outside the building. Tom Manley, president of the visitor center, said this has been an idea for a while to honor Marion Taylor for her contribution to Shelburne Falls, and to see it complete “feels great.”
“It’s very important to everyone who knew her, and there were many, many people that worked with her in some capacity,” Manley said. “So it’s a tribute to her, and we hope that it’ll be a remembrance of her legacy.”
Marion Taylor died on Feb. 23, 2026, at the age of 93. According to her obituary, she was born and raised in Pittsfield and made her way to the Valley for college, studying history at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She went on to teach high school in Chester, then returned to Amherst as assistant to the Protestant chaplain at the university before coming to Greenfield to become the executive director of the Franklin County Girl Scout Council.
Marion Taylor (then Fenton) married Gordon Taylor, becoming a mother to two sons and many grandchildren. Marion and Gordon were married for 64 years before her death in February, with Gordon dying a few months later in June at 95.
Throughout her life, John Taylor described his mother as someone dedicated to education and community, while Sherry said the word “visionary” comes to mind when thinking about her mother-in-law.
Marion Taylor served on the Shelburne School Committee and Mohawk Trail Regional School Committee, all while being involved with many organizations, oftentimes as a leader. John said she was connected with the Shelburne Falls Business Association, working alongside some of the “patriarchs of the town” like Marvin Shippee or George Needham.
“An unlikely combination, but she had a vision that Shelburne Falls could be better, more attractive, more prosperous,” John Taylor said, of his mother working with Shippee and Needham.
As described in her obituary, Taylor worked on the restoration of the Bridge of Flowers, acted as a founding member of the Mary Lyons Foundation, was a participant in the Shelburne Falls Women’s Club, the president of Shelburne Grange #68, and a member of the First Congregational Church and other local groups.
In 1990, she was named the Greenfield Recorder’s Citizen of the Year, saying that “Volunteerism is an important part of life in Franklin County,” while accepting the award. In 2023, she was honored once again for her community contributions by the Shelburne Falls Women’s Club, even earning a commendation from former state Rep. Natalie Blais.
Recognizing a legacy
This volunteerism extended to the Village Information Center, of which Marion Taylor was a founder and president for many years, Manley said, describing her as a “pioneer” for the center.
Honoring this volunteerism was something that after Marion’s death, became a topic of discussion with Franklin Tech joining to make the bench. The district agreed to participate, with the design inspired by the Iron Bridge just down the road.
In May, senior Sheyenne Ballentine began working on the bench as part of a senior capstone project with the help of her classmates, Nora Cutting and Cole Gamache.
Ballentine and Cutting explained that the bench is made of steel, with a stainless steel plate installed behind the lettering on the bench.
The bench has a lattice design for the seat reflective of the Iron Bridge and a sign that reads, “In memory of Marion Taylor” that was laser-cut in a font to emulate signage for the Bridge of Flowers, which Taylor worked on a committee to restore in 1983.
Ballentine said having the bench completed and on display is “kind of crazy.” She said it will be cool to drive by with pride in the future knowing that was something she and her classmates made.
John and Sherry Taylor said they were unaware of the bench being made to honor Marion, but that it was a nice surprise.
“I think it’s wonderful, and I think it’s appropriate,” John said about the bench and its location in front of the visitor center. “They did a really nice job honoring the village.”
