Jennie Lee Taliaferro

Taliaferro, Jennie Lee. Dallas TX- A Memorial Service celebrating the life of Jennie Lee Taliaferro of Dallas, is scheduled for Saturday, November 15 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church, located at 8011 Douglas Avenue in Dallas, Texas 75225 with the Reverend Greg Pickens officiating. Jennie died peacefully at her home in her sleep at sunrise on November seventh after a lengthy illness.

Jennie was a lifelong Texas resident, born in Austin, and later relocating with her family in Dallas at the age of six just in time to begin her education and her lifelong love of learning and scholarship at The Hockaday School. She and her beloved classmates were the first to begin first grade at, and then matriculate all twelve years later in 1973 at Hockaday’s brand new larger campus and facilities in North Dallas (it’s still growing!). Upon graduation in 1974, Jennie went to England for study in a summer program at King’s College at Oxford, in a setting most suited for her scholarly ambitions. Returning to Dallas that autumn, Jennie enrolled and graduated from Southern Methodist University with all the Honors, Rights and Privileges of the Bachelors of Arts degree (British History) in just two years in 1976. She was a sister of the Gamma Phi Beta Sorority during this time. After graduation, she returned to England to study at Schiller College in London for post graduate work. In 1977, she returned to SMU to enroll in the fast track Masters of Business Administration program and graduated with honors in 1978. In December of that year, Jennie and her mother Nancy Taliaferro traveled to the then Soviet Union ("I had to see it for myself” -she said) for a month where she later became convinced she contracted the disease that would later contribute so much to chronic health problems- micobacterium kansasii. When she returned to the United States, Jennie married in 1981 and became involved with the Sunday School Study program for the preschoolers at Saint Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church in Dallas on Douglas Avenue in Dallas. At Saint Michael’s church, she was a member of, sang in the choir, and served on the Alter Guild. From there, she was a volunteer for many Charity Institutions in Dallas such as Slipper Club, Mayfest, KERA Art Auction, and many, many others. As unpaid volunteer she worked diligently, but so much so that this overwork brought on her first bout with micobacterium kansasii that had remained dormant all this time. She was literally rescued by the great Doctor John Fisher, the family general practitioner and friend, who along with Jennie’s mother Nancy served on the board of the Dallas Opera. Dr. Fisher made the diagnosis in 1985, after Jennie had returned from New York City for training with Johnson O’Conner. As a lover of Opera, Dr Fisher said to Jennie “Jennie, you are Traviata in the last Act!”. Jennie would recover after a prescribed year of recovery at home and go on to be among the first to travel to China (after travel was re-opened there to the West prior to 1988). Jennie would travel to Paris to celebrate the bicentenaire in 1989, and spend two months visiting Every Museé there she could, including the Museé Picasso, The Museé Dorsay, The Louvre, and many others, as well as collecting many Art Historical tomes at Antiquarian bookstores throughout Paris. Jennie collected an immense library of mostly art historical and historical books, and many others including Agatha Christie and British mysteries. Also, Jennie collected bone china from her favorite Spode pattern, "China Palace", in many disparate locations, such as Bermuda, U.S. Virgin Islands and elsewhere. In 1990, Jennie met Myron Blakely in Dallas, and after a yearlong courtship, traveled with him to Jamaica to be married and honeymooned there. After returning to Dallas, Jennie was to complete her coursework and then write (with husband Myron manning the constant flow of Mozart from the CD player) and submit her Masters Degree Thesis in Art History for graduation as Master of Art in 1994. She was among the first of graduating Masters candidates that year to be required to write and publish her Masters Thesis from her Mac PC alone, as was the new requirement. For the remainder of the nineties Jennie divided her time between homemaking, professional work at home (involving independent scholarship in art history), and protracted litigation regarding the family business and estate. As well as much casual reading and movie watching with Myron. Jennie was a very visual person and loved movies from the U.S. and around the world. Jennie was a member of many museums in D/FW such as The Amon Carter, The Kimball, and the Dallas Museum of Art. Jennie formed her own desktop publishing company in 2001. Jennie was a research scholar of the highest order, and all-around bibliophile (“Read EVERYTHING!” - A Hockaday professor once exhorted the class in 3rd grade, and Jennie took this very much to heart, she enjoyed it so much!)

She was among the first generation of web loggers via her blog: "The Greatest Jeneration” at greatestjeneration.com. Also VERY active on Twitter as "Jenfidel” “. Her presence there will be much missed. "Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee.”

― John Donne, No Man Is An Island She claimed a life theme from Alfred Lord Tennyson as her own. From her youth, she was a "part of all that…(she)... had met." Her many friends from different arenas bear testament that "...tho' much is taken, much abides."

He claimed a life theme of Alfred Lord Tennyson for his own. From his youth, he was a "part of all that...(he)... had met." His many friends from different arenas, medicine, society, music, opera, bridge, Italy and family, bear testament that "...tho' much is taken, much abides. - See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/dallasmorningnews/obituary.aspx?n=john-fisher&pid=131475010#sthash.yHZEgCJW.dpuf

In her own words on Facebook- "Native Texan who's traveled the world. One of the first (war) bloggers beginning in 2002. I love God, my country, our Constitution, our troops, Tea Parties, my husband & our cats! Proud member of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy since 1976.”

Jennie was a fascinating, vigorous, self-motivated, merry, vivacious, generous, beautiful, wonderful, joy filled friend and mentor to all- candid, frank and passionate with a wonderful (awesome!) sense of humor who kept everyone laughing at all the right times (and maybe some not so right times too!) Everyone who knew her will miss her profoundly; eternally grateful to have known her- we remember what we gained by knowing her and pray to keep her spirit alive within us and continue sharing it with each other always.

Thank You Jennie, for so very, very much. You will be much missed and cherished forever by those you leave here on earth. Goodbye, ye devoted child of God, and warrioress (rhetorically!) for His Son Jesus Christ. May ye abide in the Holy Spirit always!

“Come and abide with Me, for the day is far spent”.

In lieu of flowers, please make any charitable donations you wish to some of Jennie’s favorite charities:

In lieu of flowers, please make any charitable donations you wish to some of Jennie’s favorite charities:

Prison Fellowship

P.O. Box 1550

Merrifield, VA 22116-1550

Founded by Chuck Colson

www.prisonfellowship.org

SPCA of Texas

2400 Lone Star

Dallas, TX 75212