Kathleen Taylor

Kathleen (Kathy) Sharrow Taylor passed away on Friday, November 9, 2018.
Kathy was born to Augustin Sharrow and Rita Donovan Sharrow on July 18, 1947 in Jamaica,
Queens, New York.
Kathy attended the all-girl Catholic Dominican Commercial High School in Jamaica, Queens,
New York. She graduated in 1965. The school’s goal was to provide an education to produce
secretaries who would qualify for jobs in any large company. Kathy went to work for IBM.
Kathy and her cousin Pat learned to ride horses. They left the Long Island stables searching for
more than a lesson in a circle. They traveled to upstate New York to Painted Pony Ranch and
1000 Acres Dude Ranch. Kathy’s future husband John of Montana was employed as a trail
guide at 1000 Acres. While on their first trail ride, John removed Kathy’s tall English boots and
threw them up in a tree. He said she needed proper footwear to ride Western.
Kathy agreed to marry the Montana cowboy. She and her cousin Pat left New York and flew to
Tucson, Arizona, where Kathy and John eloped, marrying on March 7, 1970. Kathy had
prepared for the trip by smuggling her trousseau in Pat’s suitcase. Such was the bridesmaid’s
duties.
Kathy grew up in Valley Stream, NY. She traveled the New York and Arizona rodeo circuit with
her husband. They returned to Kalispell, MT in the early 1970s. When they came to Kalispell,
Kathy needed a job. She bought and studied a book on business and became the Comptroller of
Bell Manufacturing, located south of Kalispell. When Bell was declining, she began her next
quest. She took a class at FVCC in electricity. The telephone company had great opportunities,
and she was assigned to work on their switchboard. When Kathy retired, she was the head of the
Customer Service Department at CenturyTel.
Their home burned the morning of Halloween 1980. The following Spring they purchased the
Taylor family home on Valley View Drive, which had been sold by John’s parents a few years
earlier. That home had originally been purchased in 1952 by John and Edith Taylor, and Kathy
sold it in 2013.
When John retired, Kathy took early retirement, and they became snowbirds between Kingman,
AZ and Kalispell, MT. They traveled between the two homes until October 2012, when her
husband John E. Taylor passed away. She sold both homes the following year and fulfilled a
dream of living on a golf course by moving to Village Greens in Kalispell. She loved the green
grass that she did not have to mow. Her neighborhood became her second family, and she loved
the community.
Kathy learned everything from reading books. That began with her first cookbook and learning
how to boil water. It took some time to grow accustomed to her family tradition of serving
peaches and noodles for dinner on Friday nights during Lent. Her kitchen eventually contained
every great gadget sold by QVC. She crocheted and knitted beautiful afghans. Her only entry in
the county fair was in 2018, and she won a blue ribbon and a check. She loved to read books.
Thanks to the Kindle, thousands of board feet of wood have been saved, and the book shelves no
longer sag.
Kathy and John helped many people. Numerous friendships were formed by selflessly bringing
a continuous flow of visitors into their home.
Kathy was so impressed with the care John received at Kalispell Regional Healthcare that she
soon became a volunteer there. She was a greeter on Thursdays and staffed the Information
Desk on Tuesdays. She served on the KRH Volunteer Board and became a member of the
Executive Board as Treasurer. Kathy was a perfect fit as a hospital volunteer with her
compassion for people and knowledge of the hospital’s enormous layout and protocol. There
wasn’t a task that she couldn’t handle with diligence and ease. She will be greatly missed by the
many close friends she developed while volunteering.
Kathy’s battle with lung cancer began in April of 2018. She fought it with chemo and radiation
until the day she entered hospice in November. She was in Butte with her niece at the time of
her death. The family would like to thank Dr. Hunt, the Kalispell Cancer Center and staff; Dr.
Linam, NW MT Radiation and Oncology in Kalispell and staff; and Drs. Massouh and Gallaher,
the St. James Cancer Center in Butte and staff.
Kathy was preceded in death by her husband John E. Taylor (2012), her parents Augustin
Sharrow (1988) and Rita Donovan Sharrow (2002), and her adopted son Patrick Kain (2008).
She is survived by her brother Roy (Mary) Sharrow of Mineola, NY. Cousins: Patricia (Leonard)
Urban of Huntington, NY, Susan (Joseph) Volpe of South Merrick, NY, Patricia (Yvonne) Reilly
of Brooklyn, NY, and Lynne Reilly of New York, NY. Sister-in-law Rosella (Lee) Isaacson of
Kalispell, MT. Nieces: Carolyn (Bob) Cornelius of Butte, MT, Rhonda (John) Tuin of Carson
City, NV, and Wendy Larson of Columbia Falls, MT. Nephews: Gary Taylor of Denver, CO,
Dean (Sheila) Proefrock of College Place, WA, Edward (Virginia) Proefrock of Hillsboro, OR,
Bob DeRosia of Columbia Falls, MT, Gregory Sharrow of Mineola, NY and Christopher (Nadia)
Sharrow of Charlottesville, VA.
Services will be held at Risen Christ Catholic Parish in Evergreen on Wednesday, November 14,
at 10:30 a.m. A graveside burial will follow at Fairview Cemetery, and a luncheon will be served
at noon at the church. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the charity of your choice or an animal
shelter.

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