Mary Stuart Taylor

Mary Stuart Taylor, of Annapolis, MD., passed away on Jan. 27, 2023, at Heartlands Assisted Living in Severna Park, where she had lived for the past year. Born in Lynchburg, Virginia on November 15, 1932, to Virginia Bibb Taylor and Floyd Layton Taylor, she lived in Annapolis for 44 years and, prior to that, lived in Bowie.

She is survived by her only child and daughter, Nora West Terres; her son-in-law, Peter West; her only grandchild, Leigh West, her niece, Emily Wood; grand-nephews Lawson and Wyatt Wood; and a great-grand-niece and nephew, Mavis and Walter Wood. Her sister and brother, Margaret “Peggy” Wood, and Floyd Layton Taylor, Jr. and her nephew, Walter Wood, pre-deceased her.

Mary Stuart spent her career with the federal government as a librarian, working at the Library of Congress, the National Agricultural Library, and then, for the last decade of her career, at the National Defense University Library. There she met U.S. Army Col. Robert (Bob) Carlson (Ret.), then a professor at NDU. They were married in 1978. In retirement she and Bob, operated the MaryRob Bed and Breakfast for several years in downtown Annapolis. Col. Carlson passed away in 2021.

She was an avid student of art history—attending art exhibits whenever she could—and was particularly fond of post-impressionist works. She loved gardening and fashion and collected antiques and books, especially art books and cookbooks. She was an excellent, gourmet cook, and enjoyed throwing dinner parties at her Italianate Victorian home in the Historic District.

A reception for friends and family will be held at John M Taylor Funeral Home in Annapolis, from 6 to 8 p.m. on February 1st. Mary Stuart will be buried near her parents, her Aunt Marie, and her paternal grandparents, at Amherst Cemetery in Amherst, VA, on Feb. 4, with a short burial service at 11 a.m.