Edith Darknell Taylor

Born December 29, 1934, in Vancouver, Canada. Passed on March 19, 2022, Fair Oaks, California. Predeceased by her parents, Kenneth and Anne Campbell, her sister Nora Werner, her brother Ken Campbell, her first husband Frank Darknell, and her second husband Ralph Taylor. Edie graduated from Kitsilano High School and the University of British Columbia, in Vancouver, and earned a master’s degree in Library Science at University of California, Berkeley in 1968. After moving to Fair Oaks in 1970, she began a career with the California Department of Transportation, where she oversaw the introduction of computerized services to the Caltrans library. She retired as Supervising Librarian in 1997. A member of the Modern Transit Society, Edie was active in the grass-roots campaigns to bring light rail to Sacramento and to increase the local sales tax to fund transit expansion. She was known for enlivening MTS annual meetings by writing melodrama skits in which various local luminaries took part. She had a long history of supporting liberal causes and animal welfare groups. She was a long-time member of the Fair Oaks Village Singers, where she met her second husband, Ralph Taylor, after both lost their spouses. With his encouragement she developed her singing voice and together they performed at local nursing homes with the Singing Angels. Her time with Ralph was filled with love, music, and laughter. Edie also appreciated the community and fellowship of Saint Francis Episcopal Church and her many friends at the Thursday Women’s Club. She leaves her nieces Beth and Bonnie Campbell, nephews Allan and Don (Margaret) Campbell, great-nieces Kayla, Kelsey and Colleen, sister-in-law Claudia Campbell, stepdaughter Deirdre (Walt) Johnson, two grandsons, and five great grandchildren. A kind heart, she doted on the feral cats, possums, racoons, and deer that visited her window every day. Edie practiced philanthropy and political activism throughout her life, and was a good friend to Kathy Raymond, Luanne Smith, Susann Steward, Dot Boyd, Michael and Martha Dickinson, and many others. We express our thanks to her caregiver Luci and the staff at Kaiser Roseville Medical Center that supported Edie with kindness and grace. Services will be held at Trinity Episcopal Church in Folsom in the coming months, details to be announced. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be sent to the Wildlife Care Association of Sacramento or to Capital Public Radio, Inc.