Celebrating the Life of
Theodora Castion Taylor
December 31, 1923 — December 24, 2023
Obituary
On the morning of Christmas Eve 2023, Theodora Castion Taylor passed away peacefully. Her daughter and son-in-law, Kim and Tony, were by her side. Teddi was born in New York City on December 31, 1923 and transitioned just one week short of her 100th birthday. Reaching that numerical milestone had never really mattered to her. She simply decided, in true Teddi Taylor fashion, that Christmas Eve was close enough.
She was a proud New York native. Growing up during the Depression meant learning to thrive at the messy intersection of doing without and doing all you could to make the most of life’s circumstances. Throughout her life, Teddi demonstrated an improbable resilience that would ultimately define her. At a time when society looked to confine Black folks and women to narrow spaces and subservient roles, she held her head high. Rebellious from the start, Teddi would live her entire life defying those who looked to trap her in the margins. She was a Harlem/Bronx girl to her core with the sass to remind you of that fact.
Until she married her husband, jazz musician Bily Taylor, Teddi had never ventured far from home. But all of that would change in 1948. Upon returning from their brief honeymoon, the young couple learned that Bill had lost his job. Luckily, that freed him up to tour post-war Europe with Don Redman’s jazz band. And Bill arranged for Teddi to travel with the band. Although, she was the only woman on the tour, she held her own. Her sense of style distinguished her and an unerring confidence enabled her to stand tall in every room. During her first year of marriage, she would visit eight countries. That extraordinary experience for a young Black woman in the 1940s would ignite a life-long passion for travel. And it revealed her strength of character. Throughout her life, she would always be herself and at ease whether in the company of US presidents, foreign heads of state, or jazz royalty. Another person might have gotten lost in the shadow of a famous jazz musician. But not Teddi Taylor. She was, in every way, her husband’s life partner and the love of his life. In return, her love for her husband was real and unbreakable. They were married for 62 years until his death.
Teddi’s life’s work was her family. Although she often enjoyed the chance to mingle with celebrities, she always preferred just being in the company of her family. She loved fully, fiercely, fearlessly. Teddi cherished each member of her family, perhaps because she learned early that those bonds can be at once precious and precarious. She was the youngest of three girls, and when she was just three years old, her mother passed away from illness. Like her mother, Teddi also had three children. Her first child, Michelle, lived only a few short months. Teddi later gave birth to Duane and then to Kim, and raised each with love that was unwavering. She took great pride that Duane attended and graduated from Grinnell college and that Kim attended and graduated from Brown University and Yale Law School. Both Duane and Kim attributed their confidence and success to her unshakable belief in them. Of course, Teddi would be annoyed if we failed to mention that she also had a fourth child -- the family cat, Sophia, whom everyone knew was her favorite child.
Teddi’s deep love extended to other passions as well. She loved to cook and earned a reputation for being unmatched in the kitchen. She loved art and developed an unparalleled collection of Black and African art. She loved tennis, although to be clear, she really only cared about Serena and Nadal. She loved fishing with Tony and tended to stretch the truth about her catch like every good fisherman. She loved basketball and may have been responsible for the winning seasons that the Knicks and the Bulls enjoyed back in the day. Her loud coaching through the television made all the difference … or, so she claimed. And she maintained a healthy passion about politics and an equally healthy dose of rage against any injustice. She was our rock and the world seems less steady without her.
Teddi is survived by her daughter Kim Taylor-Thompson, her son-in-law, Anthony Thompson, nieces, nephew, cousins, grand-nieces, grand-nephews whom she loved dearly and friends whom she embraced as family.
Services
Memories and Condolences
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Kim, I love you. I love that you selflessly understood and shared your mom with me throughout my life. Your mom was my 2nd mom. The bulk of my memories will be sent to you privately. Your mom, our Aunt Teddi was a force of love, grace and honesty. She was a spectrum of beautiful colors seen in her attire and African American art work adorned in her & Uncle Bill's modern home. She was dearly loved by her sisters, Thelma & Valerie. They knew and lovingly watched over the years, as all their children were captivated by their little sister. How we all loved the fun times in Riverdale. Duane and you had all of the latest music and dance steps to which you both proudly demonstrated as other cousins from Philly would want to show their moves and an impromptu soul train dance off would occur. There was additional laughter when we would grab our respective mother to join in as we crowed the living room to get in on a piece of the action. There was even more fun and laughter when Aunt Teddi joined with the young folk singing, Aretha Franklin's, song Respect. Only your mom was intentionally, boisterously melodic, as the Queen of Soul intended, spelling out RESPECT multiple times as the lyrics indicated. We knew we could sing the lyrics, however Aunt Teddi understood and embodied the song and out did us with her rendition and curvaceous dance moves. There was a bright light within her spirit. It made every family occasion we ever shared, even more special. Aunt Teddi wore the latest styles, even denim jeans when she wore them looked so elegant. When the family was together, the cousins knew at some point watching for when Denese walked with her to her bedroom and emerged smiling and adorned with multiple pairs of Aunt Teddi's cute, stylish shoes. In that moment the younger cousins & even Kim wondered when we would grow into her shoe size! When she traveled, she thought of her sisters and her nieces often bringing something special back. Once, she traveled to Spain and bought each of us a gorgeous, leather pocketbook with our initials inside, engraved in gold leaf. I have pictures of me at Howard University sitting by the library adorning her gift to me. Weathered over the years of special usage, I still have mine! Now, all our mothers could cook and we loved their food. Aunt Teddi though could seriously "throw down in the kitchen"! She loved to see family and friends enjoy her food and each other. It was a norm to see the sisters in the kitchen tasting and getting out paper to write down a recipe, name of a spice from a sauce she came up with, or a new recipe that she prepared. To this day we all prepare many of the dishes that are her recipes and passing them down to the family's children. Hopefully, their being told who originated the recipes! We never minded following Duane and Kim into the kitchen to stack the dishwasher and wash pots and pans because we all feasted to our hearts content after a scrumptious meal. I don't remember having to put leftovers away, because there were none. Let me not forget the😋desserts. There are so many! Mine was and will always be her amazing peach cobbler, out of this world adult applesauce, and "no you didn't", chocolate layer cake with pure Hershey candy bar chocolate icing! I remember Kim sharing that her friends in college would gather in her dorm room, waiting for her mom's homemade applesauce and chicken care package to arrive. They remember how fortunate they were to have Kim as their friend because that day, they all ate well. They too came to love her dearly and do so to this day. Kim your mom lives within us all. All of us can clearly recall memories from childhood to adulthood where she influenced us. Your Zoom arrangements meant for your mom's delight, brought us all delight, being together with her. We asked poignant questions hoping to get a last glimpse into our family history, from our only remaining maternal matriarch, that she might recall. We enjoyed listening to familiar and unfamiliar stories about her life. At 99, she could still capture our hearts and imaginations as she could keep us all in suspense with her dramatic storytelling. She never demanded our attention. Her story telling finesse that we grew up with naturally commanded our attention, even at 99. What immense joy we all shared on those Zoom occasions. Her laughter became much more frail. The sparkle in her eyes because of time was still there, seemingly though was looking more distant. Her smile though for me remained the same, a little mischievous and yes a few more beauty lines framed it, but always, so genuine! At 99 she was still strikingly beautiful & stately. Friends did not believe her age when I shared pictures from 80 to 99 years of life. It was because of your mom that we all came together in these later years over Zoom. Those of us unable, for medical and other varied reasons, to be with you and Tony today, are with you in spirit! Today her life is being memorialized. We though as family will be CELEBRATING her life for our lifetime! Now, in her memory, the last and youngest of three, CASTION SISTERS, and the memory of our fathers who loved their wives, the Castion sisters Teddi, Thelma and Valerie, we must as a testament to their love legacy ... remain a close loving family!
Aunt Teddi is the last of the special Castion women. She embodied grace and style. She was fun, loving and caring. It is hard to know that she is no longer with us, but we can find peace and comfort in our memories of her knowing that God sent her her wings to be with her sisters, uncle Bill, Dwayne ,Sophia, and many other loved ones I love you, aunt Teddi ❤️Maria
With love and blessings from the Ferguson family
Your mother was such a lovely woman, inside and out!! Sending you prayers. May her memories give you comfort. Peace, Sheila
Mom modeling
Dear Kim and extended family, I am so sorry. She sounds like a remarkable woman. I suspected as much, because Kim you were so stellar in school. Beauty, brains, social ease. It's a sad and painful journey you will all have to begin now. It sounds like she had a great run!? She was loved and she loved too. That's what you hold onto. Bless up. Love 💕
That is such a poignant and beautiful description of your mom; I see so much of her in you that I feel I’d know her if we met. Heartfelt condolences to you from Me and Michael.
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