Vivian Avyce Taylor, 83, died peacefully at her home in McKinleyville on February 11, 2016, of advanced kidney disease. Vivian was born in Clarendon, Texas on May 26, 1932 to Vinson Lee Taylor and Frankie Leona Watson. The oldest of five children, she was raised in Amarillo and showed an early aptitude for the arts. Studying with a local artist, she was painting with watercolors by age 7 and oils by age 9. She learned classical piano at the Musical Arts Conservatory, and accompanied the local ballet studio all through high school.

From 1950-1952 Vivian attended Abilene Christian College, in Abilene, Texas, where she met James (Jim) R. Wilburn. They married in Amarillo in 1952. She was interested in journalism and worked for the school and local newspapers. Both Vivian and Jim enjoyed singing in the college a cappella choir. Jim graduated ahead of Vivian, and she left school after her sophomore year to move with him to Wisconsin, where they started a church and had two children, a daughter and son. Vivian was minister’s wife, mother, homemaker and partner in the couple’s religious film business.

In 1959 the family returned to Texas and eventually settled in Wichita Falls, where Jim directed a student center at Midwestern University. Once the kids were in school, Vivian returned to college and completed her Bachelor’s degree in Art and English Literature, while continuing in her role as wife, mother and homemaker.

In 1967 the family moved to Los Angeles, where Jim entered graduate school at UCLA. Vivian worked full time at the UCLA Art Library. She continued to broaden her artistic pursuits with classes in drawing, painting, photography and etching, eventually earning a secondary school teaching certificate in English from UCLA in 1971. She immediately began what was to be a 10-year career as a high school English and drama teacher. Vivian and Jim divorced in 1973, but remained close friends throughout their lives.

In 1978, Vivian happily left Los Angeles to live in Oakhurst, Calif. and teach at Yosemite High School. She fell in love with the High Sierras and enjoyed small town life where she was part of the local theatre troupe and served as the faculty editor for the high school paper.

Vivian left teaching in 1981, and returned to her early interest in journalism. She started as a reporter for the Sierra Home Advertiser in Oakhurst, gathering and writing news and feature stories, as well as photographing her work. She served as managing editor for the CPA Society’s national monthly magazine and in 1983 she began work at the Fresno Bee, where she remained until her retirement in 1998. At the Bee she was a copy and entertainment editor, theater critic and a lifestyles and food writer. She was eventually in charge of the food and home & garden sections, and in 1997 won first place in a national food section competition. She also continued to act in community theatre in Fresno.

After retiring from the Bee, Vivian moved to Payson, Arizona to be near her son and his family in the Phoenix area. She always said she loved raising children, and that having grandkids was the icing on the cake. In retirement she returned to painting, remodeled her mountain cabin and its yard into a showpiece, wrote a column in the Payson newspaper and took great pleasure in spending time with her two younger granddaughters. Along with a group of neighbors, she worked to create a community dog park in Payson that later served to shelter the evacuated animals during a disastrous forest fire.

Vivian moved down to Scottsdale in 2005 where she finally focused full time on her painting. She enjoyed showing and selling her work and being part of the artist community, as well as the closer proximity to her grandkids.

Vivian’s final home was Humboldt County, where she moved to be near her daughter and the California coast she loved, for what turned out to be her last 8 months. She continued to paint, read and enjoy both the natural beauty and the local art and music events. She so appreciated the support of Hospice that allowed her to spend her final days at home. 

Vivian made friends easily and was always involved in the communities where she lived. She was a passionate student of Shakespeare, folklore, and science fiction, with a very green thumb, a flair for home décor, a quick wit and keen intellect. She will be dearly missed by her friends and family.

Vivian is survived by her two children, Jeni Sue Wilburn of McKinleyville and Gregory J Amerind (Carrie) of Tempe, Arizona, and her brother, David Taylor (Cindy) of Amarillo, Texas. She is also survived by her three granddaughters, Christy Zimmerman (Scott), of Lebec, Calif., Alexandra Amerind and Brenda Amerind, of Tempe, Ariz., as well as two great-grandchildren, Masey and Henry Zimmerman. She was preceded in death by her brother, Donald Taylor (d. 1961), sister, Marian Giles (d. 2003), and brother Stanley Taylor (d.2005).

Vivian loved dogs, and so donations in her memory can be made to an animal shelter of choice. 

A celebration of Vivian’s life will be held this summer, with a date and location to be determined.

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The obituary above was submitted by Vivian Taylor’s family. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.