Sherrill Smith Taylor

She grew up in the Great Depression and learned valuable and powerful lessons that shaped her life and the lives of her children through the adversity and challenges they faced and overcame through hard work and a consistent willingness to help others. Sherrill was the youngest of four children, and a late addition to the family. She had two older brothers, Ross and Hubert, and a sister Eunice. All three predeceased her.

She had an amazing journey through life from family farm to big city which included:

A) A Honeymoon Eve loan to a destitute relative about to lose their business which meant their honeymoon was cash low and fueled by food gifts from friends and family.

B) Moving to Atlanta where her first child, Robin was born.

C) Relocating to beautiful Savannah where number two, Robert was delivered.

D) An abrupt move to the wildly different culture of South Florida where her first two neighbors were convicted criminals…

E) Raising two children, supporting church and charity and helping found one of the largest specialty sales agencies in the US.

She married Bob Taylor in 1956, a colorful and dynamic native of South Georgia. Bob and Sherry were deeply committed to each other and had a beautiful marriage that lasted for 65 years. Together they founded BBI (Burdette Beckmann, Inc), which started in their home and is now national with 10 offices across the country. She reluctantly joined as Controller and helped the struggling company survive and eventually thrive. While working hard with the family business she was always a faithful servant of God and dedicated member of Sheridan Hills Baptist Church. She served on the board there, Chaired the school board, and taught Sunday school for more than 20 years. One of her proudest accomplishments was her early support and participation in the original formation of Sheridan House, which to this day helps thousands of Children and Families.

Sherrill strongly believed in doing the right thing and made that clear (many times) to her two equally strong-willed children. She also believed in the power of generosity. She was completely committed to the Biblical principles of tithing and did so faithfully even when the family was not prospering. She laid down practices that continue to inform the family business today and which have impacted many lives.

She loved her family deeply and enjoyed literally anything that was an opportunity to spend time with them. She is survived by her children Robin Taylor Fleming and her husband Philip and Robert Taylor and his wife Elizabeth, her grandchildren Shelby Miller, Wilson Symons, and Brantley Taylor, and her greatgrandchildren Smith and Wesley Miller.

A Celebration of Life will be held at Sheridan Hills Baptist Church at 1:00 January 17. Donations in lieu of flowers can be made to Sheridan House and/or Habitat for Humanity Broward. Their websites are: sheridanhouse.org and habitatbroward.org.