SMYRNA, TN – Katie Lee Taylor, age 86, of Smyrna, Tennessee, went to be with her Lord and Savior on Monday, September 15, 2025, at the Smyrna Care Center in Smyrna, Tennessee.
She was born on February 7, 1939, in Murphysboro, Illinois, the daughter of Glenn and Lillian Hayse. She married Bobby Joe Taylor on December 24, 1955, and he preceded her in death on February 7, 2003. Together, they shared forty-seven years of marriage.
Mrs. Taylor was a member of Fellowship Baptist Church in South Chicago Heights, Illinois, where she was a former Sunday School teacher. She loved her church and enjoyed worshiping with her church family until her health declined.
She enjoyed taking care of her grandbabies, attending church, teaching Sunday School, and, as her daughter said, “while attending church, she always had a baby in her lap.”
Katie is survived by her daughter, Jacqueline “Jacki” Blanton-Boone and husband Jerry of LaVergne, TN; two sons, Terry Taylor of Peotone, IL, and Tim Taylor and wife Kim of Big Fork, MN; nine grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren; three great-great-grandchildren; one great-great-great-grandchild; and several nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, a son, Michael Glenn Taylor, one brother, and six sisters.
Funeral services will be held at 1:00 p.m. Saturday, September 20, 2025, at Leffler Funeral Home in Benton, Illinois. Burial will follow at the Masonic & Odd Fellows Cemetery in Benton. Visitation will be held from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Saturday at Leffler Funeral Home.
Memorial contributions in memory of Katie may be made to the family.
To leave online condolences to the family or to share memories of Katie, visit www.lpfuneralhome.com.
