Alice Loraine (McCann) Taylor

Alice Loraine (McCann) Taylor passed away surrounded by family on October 17, 2015, in Anchorage, Alaska.

Alice was born to William and Elizabeth McCann in Crookston, Minnesota, and spent her childhood on the family farm in North Dakota during the depression. She enlisted in the Women’s Army Corp in 1944 and served in Austria after World War II for the reconstruction. After the war, she returned to Minnesota and earned her degree in English.

Fulfilling her dream for adventure, she moved to Palmer, Alaska, in 1951. There she met and married Roscoe Lee Taylor, where together they raised eight children. A longtime secretary at St. Michael’s Parish, she was known in the community for her volunteer service. She was a constant example of an open heart and a welcoming smile.

Alice will be remembered for her kindness, her unconditional love and acceptance, as well as her prize-winning molasses cookies.

She is survived by her sister, Beatrice Duffy, her children and their spouses: James and Corlis Taylor, Thomas and Sharon Taylor, David and Amelia Taylor, Susan Taylor, Robert and Teresa Taylor, Mary and Jeffry Silverman, Steven and Sarah Taylor, and Michael Taylor, as well as her 17 grandchildren and great-grandchildren, who refer to her as “the best grandma ever,” and numerous nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her husband, Roscoe Lee Taylor, her parents, and siblings: Mary McCann, Paul McCann, Evelyn Henry, and Timothy Thomas McCann.

Services will be held at St. Michael’s Parish in Palmer, Alaska, on Wednesday, Oct. 21. There will be a viewing at 6 p.m., Rosary at 6:30 p.m., followed by a vigil at 7 p.m. The funeral service will be held on Thursday, Oct. 22, at 10 a.m., with a reception to follow. Alice will be interred at the Fort Richardson National Cemetery with her husband. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be sent to St. Michael’s Parish in Palmer or the Palmer Senior Citizens’ Center.