As a young woman, all Mary Ellen Taylor ever wanted to be was a wife and mother. Born November 9, 1944 in New Castle, Indiana, as the oldest of 4 sisters, she grew up in a tight-knit home with parents who raised her to love God and to put others before herself. These are lessons she would put to good and constant use throughout her life.

Her sisters speak of her loving nature and sweet, nurturing spirit from their earliest recollections. She spent so much time caring for her youngest sister, born when Mary Ellen was 14, that her sister would often call her mommy.

In 1963, at the age of 18, she met a young man who would become the love of her life. His name was Duane Hufford. What neither of them knew at the time was that each already had an eye on the other before they met. The day they finally did meet, Duane wasted no time, asking her out and taking her that very evening to Ray's Drive-In, where they each enjoyed a breaded tenderloin sandwich—and love was born. Six months later, they were married; ten and a half months after that, they welcomed their first child.

From that day until her last she remained devoted to her family, forging and actively sustaining deep bonds through three generations with her intentional, active love toward every individual member, whether they were born into, or brought into, the family. And this devotion was reciprocal, to the point where one nurse during Mary Ellen's final hospital stay remarked that she had never seen a family where she couldn't tell the kids / grandkids from the in-laws.

Upon the birth of her first grandchild, she became known as Mammaw, a name used not only by her grandchildren, but by their friends as well, to refer to her. In fact, if you are reading this there is a good chance that Mammaw is what you call her.
It seems she and Duane (Pappaw to her Mammaw) poured into everyone they encountered. It has been routine for people they knew, who didn't have local family, to be invited to family holiday meals, and there are other, innumerable acts of kindness that could be mentioned if only space allowed.

Today we celebrate this remarkable woman. She was beloved and adored as a daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, aunt, friend, caregiver, teacher, and so much more.

The only word that can come close to encompassing such a life is Mammaw.