Katherine Ophelia Taylor

Katherine Brown Taylor died peacefully in her home at Westminster, in Austin, on June 8, 2026, two days after celebrating her 101st birthday with family and friends. She is survived by her husband, Boyd D. Taylor, her son Boyd Forrest Taylor and wife Deborah of Katy, Texas, her grandsons Matthew H. Taylor, and Michael Golding and wife Crystal, and her granddaughter Lauren Wright and husband James, and four great-grandchildren. She is also survived by twelve nephews and nieces and their children.

Kitty was born in Austin on June 4, 1925. She was predeceased by her parents John Steen Brown and Ida Wells Brown, her sisters Dorothy Brown Carson and Rebecca Brown Case, and her brothers, Hiram Steen Brown, Bart Eugene Brown and Roy Clayton Brown.

Her paternal grandfather Hiram (Hye) G. Brown came to the Hill Country from Gonzales County in 1876. He and his wife Margaret Steen Brown were landowners in the area and founded the town of Hye. The general store they owned there is still in operation. After World War One, Kitty's father John Steen Brown, an engineer educated at Texas A&M, moved his family to Austin where he was engaged in the furniture business with his brother-in-law, Charles Cabiness.

Kitty attended Pease Elementary School, Allen Junior High School. Austin High School and the University of Texas. She met her husband Boyd, a lawyer, when they were both employed in law offices in the Littlefield Building in downtown Austin. After their marriage, they moved to Amarillo where Boyd was in the legal department of Phillips Petroleum Company. Thereafter he joined Cabot Corporation, first asa lawyer and then as a manager, before retiring as executive Vice President and Director. They lived in Pampa and Houston, Texas, Charleston, West Virginia, and Sherborn and Boston, Mass. When he retired in 1989 they moved to Lakeway and then to Austin. At the time of her death, they resided at Westminster, the Austin retirement community.

Kitty was an accomplished hostess, a talented cook, and a hospital and church volunteer. She was a devoted parent and a favorite aunt to her nieces and nephews. She loved to play bridge, go to the opera and theater in Austin, Houston and New York, and to travel. She and Boyd traveled widely, especially in England and France, where they enjoyed lengthy stays in the community. They took ocean cruises to different parts of the world and crossed the Atlantic by liner during a severe storm. They attended the French Open and Wimbledon on several occasions. They went on safari in Kenya and rode the train across Canada. They flew around the world, stopping in Japan, Australia, Malaysia, India and Switzerland.

Kitty loved shopping of all kinds, but especially antiquing. For some years, she and a friend operated a small antique shop in Houston. Best of all, Kitty loved to visit and exchange stories and news with old friends, many from her Austin High School days.

She was a member of St. David's Episcopal Church, the Austin Woman's Club, PEO ,and a life member of the UT Ex-Students' Association.

The family thanks Emma Lujan, Maria Pulido and Blanca Pleitez, for their devoted care for Kitty during the last years of her life, as well as the staff of Hospice Austin , Dr. Michael Pellegrini, and Westminster Assisted Living caregivers and healthcare providers.

Friends and family will gather for graveside services at 11 AM on Saturday, June 20 at Austin Memorial Park Cemetery, 2800 Hancock Drive.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in Kitty's memory may be made to the Taylor Grant for Teaching Excellence, Temple Education Foundation, 401 Santa Fe Way, Temple, Texas 76501, or to a charity of their choice. Arrangements by Weed Corley Fish. wcfishnorth.