Denise was born in 1958 and grew up in Taylor, Michigan. She graduated from Taylor Center High School in 1976 and went on to earn a Bachelor’s of Science in Biology from Eastern Michigan University in 1980. She married her husband Bill that year, and they went on to raise their sons Chase and Martin together on their farm in Wallace, Michigan. On their farm, they raised poultry, cattle, and various other small livestock for over 30 years together before moving to Escanaba in 2020.
Denise had a love for all things nature – especially gardening, birds, and rocks. Throughout her college years, she collected over 100 houseplants that she housed and cared for at her mother’s home. Her passion for plants led to her curating gardens full of native Michigan plants. Her love for gardening and native plants also led to her continuing a Taylor family tradition of bringing in and propagating native wildflowers near her house. Denise’s birding hobby led to her becoming one of the founding members of the Chappee Rapids Audubon Society in Menominee, MI and Marinette, WI. She wrote the column “Field Notes” for the society’s newsletter and participated in numerous Christmas Bird Counts. She and her husband Bill also founded the Hayward Lakes Christmas Bird Count. She was one of the leading guides in the Menominee Historical Society / Chappee Rapids Audubon local history field trips for fourth grade classes at the Chappee-Webber Learning Center. She was also a Breeding Bird Survey Observer for the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
Denise was a 6 year breast cancer survivor and she held an endless appreciation for the natural world surrounding her. She was compassionate and respectful towards all life and cared immensely for those she was close to. Her volunteer work was selfless and purely for the sake of educating others on the things she knew and loved. She will be missed enormously.”
A celebration of life is planned for later in the spring. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the American Cancer Society or an environmental organization of your choosing.
The Taylor family is being assisted by the Skradski Family Funeral Home in Escanaba.
Dan and Kathleen Creten - Green Valley, AZ
Dear Bill and family,
Our condolences to you all. I was honored to get to know Denise as a new neighbor and fellow “UU”. She has left a void impossible to fill. I hold you all in my heart across the miles.
Joe Kaplan - Bark River , MI
I shared a kindred spirit with Denise in birds and nature. We planted a hillside in native plants this past summer on the Ford River with the UP Conservancy and Wild Ones. I will look forward to those blooms next spring as a tribute to her memory and values. She was a wonderful person. My sincerely condolences.
Tammi Salewsky - Marinette, Wi
Bill, so very sorry for your loss. My thoughts and prayers go out to you and your family.
Janine Adams - Gladstone, MI
To Bill and Denise’s much loved sons and family, My deepest condolences to you. Denise definitely made the world a better place. She will always be remembered with fondness.
John Gagnon & Pam Allsopp - Escanaba, MI
She will be remembered as a kind, humble and thoughtful soul. She was intelligent and attuned to nature, and she will live in our hearts as well as the natural world. Our thoughts go out to her family and other loved ones.