Sammye Lou Taylor

SAMMYE LOU TAYLOR passed away on Aug. 12, 2012, at her home in Little Rock, Ark. She was born in Little Rock on Nov. 29, 1952, to Orris and Mildred Taylor, who predeceased her. She is survived by her son, Alexander Taylor Jones, a second-year student at the University of Virginia School of Law; by her sisters, Dinah Hendrix of Milner, Ark., and Carol Taylor Kim of Honolulu, Hawaii; by her brother, Craig Taylor of Irving, Texas; and by many other close friends and relatives. Sammye's genius was obvious to all at an early age. She began school in McNeil, Ark., when she was five, and was asked to skip the second grade. She graduated from Magnolia High School and entered the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville when she was sixteen. She was a voracious reader her entire life, and had an ebullient personal style. With her sharp and rapier wit and her magnificent combination of brilliance, taste, and humor, she would have been right at home with Dorothy Parker at the Hotel Algonquin's Oak Room or at the Parisian salon of Madame Recamier. Professionally, Sammye was an exceptionally talented attorney who specialized in tort litigation. She loved the theater of a trial, and for a time was one of the top trial lawyers in Arkansas. She put herself through UALR Law School on her own nickel, working late nights as a waitress. In 1983, the year she was admitted to practice law, she achieved the top score on the Arkansas Bar Examination. She joined the firm of Wright, Lindsey & Jennings, where she quickly made partner. She left the firm after 16 years to work for then Arkansas Attorney General Mark Pryor. During her time serving the Attorney General and the people of Arkansas, she aggressively pursued nursing homes that abused senior citizens in their care. Sammye was an ardent Democrat, as are all the progeny of Mildred Taylor, lest they be smote from above. She had a flair for gardening, and spent many of her most pleasant hours lovingly tending the plants surrounding her home in Hillcrest. She often said that her greatest accomplishment and the great love of her life was her only child Alexander. She loved Alexander as much as any mother has ever loved a son. As she told him frequently, she loved him more than life itself. Her family wishes to thank the men and women at UAMS who worked to help Sammye as she struggled through a decade with the condition that robbed her of life. A memorial will be held to celebrate Sammye's life at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 22 at Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church in Little Rock. Sammye would want her friends and family to laugh and tell stories about her. She would want a party. Arrangements by Ruebel Funeral Home, www.ruebelfuneralhome.com.