Mae Rose Taylor

Mae Rose Hale was born on December 29, 1930 in Harlan, Kentucky to Iola Lock Hale and John Hale. Mae Rose, who preferred to be called Rose, was the youngest of three children. Her two brothers, John Hale Jr. and Richard Hale preceded her in death.

When Rose was 12 weeks old her mother passed. At this time, the three children were separated and Rose was placed in the care of her Aunt Rose Greenfield. Rose and her aunt moved to St. Clair Shores, Michigan and unfortunately, she would not reconnect with her brother Richard until she became a teenager and her brother John as an adult.

Rose was raised as Seventh-day Adventist and educated in the St. Clair Shores School System. Growing up she loved to read and was an excellent speller. She would often tell the story of how she won the spelling bee and received an autographed dictionary from the Detroit News as the prize. When Rose was 17, she was placed in the care of her Aunt Sara Stitt. She and Sara were extremely close. Rose even cared for her years later when Sara’s health began to fail.

Rose not only loved to read, she also loved music. As a young adult, she visited a night club called Lee’s Sensation, where the band Emmet Sleigh and the Sleigh Riders were performing. On this night, the saxophone player introduced himself, “Hello, my name is Frank Taylor.” In a nervous utterance she replied, “My name is Mae Rose Hale.” It was love at first sight and they were married in 1951. To this union were born two daughters, Cynthia and Suzan. Rose and Frank remained married until his transition on October 28, 2011.

Rose was very kind, very wise and woooo we! She was a sharp dresser and LOVED her high heels. Whenever she stepped out she was “clean as the board of health” and she definitely had on a pair of high heels. When her health began to fail, it took A LOT of convincing for her to give up her heels and even then, she wanted to keep several pairs stating, “Those are my favorite shoes, I’ll just keep those and look at them.”

Anyone who met her loved her instantly and many sought advice from her. She never turned anyone away. She was also an excellent cook. Her husband would not eat anyone else’s cooking. She hosted Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day dinner for 50 years!

Although she was raised Seventh-day Adventist, as an adult she did not practice that religion. She loved the Lord but was also conflicted in her faith. She knew the importance of repentance and giving her life to Christ. On May 15, 2021, she woke up in a panic revealing that she had a horrible dream. On this day in the presence of her daughter Suzan and her son-in-law Ray, she repented and gave her life to Christ. On May 16, 2021, God called His child home.

Rose leaves to cherish her memory: two daughters and two sons-in-law, Cynthia Odoms (Bobby) and Suzan Stanfield (Raynard); four granddaughters, Erica, Erin, Skylar and Parker; one grandson Jackson and one great grandson Cameron. She also leaves a number of cousins, nieces and nephews; Venus Hawkins, Gwendolyn Sparks, Stacey Queen, Angela Diuguid (Rick), Steven Cox, Melvin Wooten, Charlotte Watson (Charles), Mary Ethel Hollowan (Ennis), Geraldine Lash (Tim), Frank Wooten (Josie) and a host of other family and friends.