Mount Airy’s first woman mayor, Emily Badgett Taylor, died Monday at Forsyth Medical Center following an extended illness. Her only son, Bryan Taylor, was with her when she slipped away around noontime.

“It was a pleasure to share my mom with the community,” he said Monday evening.

Taylor, who was 79, was a woman to whom firsts were the norm and not the exception. She was known to those who knew her best as a woman who spoke her mind and expected the best from those around her.

Not only was Taylor the first woman to become mayor of Mount Airy, she was also the first woman to be elected as a city commissioner in 1987. She was re-elected in 1991.

Taylor won the race against Maynard Beamer in 1993 to become Mount Airy’s first female mayor. She was re-elected as mayor in 1997.

She served 14 years as an elected official, leaving the mayor’s office in 2001.

Former city commissioner Mike King said Taylor was a pioneer in politics.

“I think her service to the city of Mount Airy was commendable,” said King.

Loftis said that Taylor will be greatly missed by the citizens of Mount Airy.

“I would just say that she was a long-standing public servant to the citizens of Mount Airy. She served well as a teacher in the school system. She was very well-respected and performed the duties of her office well. The city hates to lose servants like Ms. Taylor. We certainly offer our sympathy to the family and all of her close friends,” Loftis said.

“We are sorry to hear that she passed away, but we knew for the last few weeks she had been fighting a real tough, uphill battle, so the news is not surprising, but at the same time, you hate to hear it,” said Loftis.

Commissioner David Beal said he was saddened by the news of Taylor’s passing.

“Emily Taylor and I were friends long before we ever served together in public office. We worked together in public education on the city school board. We also served as deacons and on the personnel committee at First Presbyterian Church.”

As Beal and Taylor worked together for the city, Beal said she kept him on his toes.

“She always put me on my very best behavior. She didn’t put up with any nonsense and she demanded that you use the best of the king’s English, so I accommodated her in that way. I was grateful for the opportunity to serve with her and for the friendship we had. I will miss her in the future,” Beal said.

Commissioner Deborah Cochran, who is currently vying for the mayor’s seat, said she first got acquainted with the former mayor while working at radio station WSYD.

“She would always call and talk about city business. I remember that I would get excited every time she would call. It’s like you would drop everything because the mayor is on the phone.

“She was a strong and courageous woman — never afraid to speak her mind. You always knew where she stood,” Cochran said.

Cochran visited Taylor several times a few weeks ago when she was in the Intensive Care Unit of Northern Hospital of Surry County.

“I called her when I decided to run for mayor. She was exuberant to hear that two women were running for mayor,” Cochran said.

Commissioner Todd Harris has been on the board since 1999 and had the opportunity to work directly with Taylor.

“She is the only person who could tell you the exact number of votes she was going to get before an election. She had the voter role and she would have her votes counted before the election. That always amazed me. She always had her ear to the ground, even after she had retired from the mayor’s chair. I contacted and talked with her regularly and she kept an interest in it,” Harris said.

“It’s a sad day. There are so many of these local politicians who have passed like Maynard Beamer. It’s a loss to our community,” he said.

Harris said Taylor was a big proponent of recreation and that is why the Emily B. Taylor Greenway was named after her on June 3, 2003.

“One of the things I always teased Emily about was — you know she smoked like a cotton-picking chimney. She is the only person I knew who carried around her own personal ashtray. She would carry it around in her pocketbook, then she could empty it out and it would fold right up. I always told her that one of these days I’m going to get my hands on that and give it to the museum of history, so that somebody will have the appropriate thing to remember her by,” Harris said with a smile.

Taylor taught English and typing at Mount Airy High School. Former student and friend, Elizabeth Martin, said she will always remember Taylor as a role model.

“There were lots of us who called her ‘The Big E.’ She was one of the best. She was good at what she did. She will be greatly missed. I always thought a lot of Emily. She told it like it was. She was very much a lady. She was a role model for lots of us young women,” said Martin.

In addition to her son, Taylor is survived by her daughter-in-law, Lynn, and three grandchildren, James Bryan Jr., 21, who is a senior at UNC-Wilmington, Lauren Elizabeth, 19, who is a sophomore at UNC-Wilmington, and Tate Wilkerson, 17, a senior at Wilmington-Eugene Ashley High School. She is also survived by two brothers, one of Winston-Salem and one of Pilot Mountain.

Taylor was born Aug. 5, 1930. She was a native of Pilot Mountain and graduated from High Point College with a Bachelor of Arts in English and history. She continued her graduate work at UNC-Chapel Hill. She taught English for 36 years, with most of those years spent at Mount Airy High School. While at MAHS, she coached the first tennis team, girls and boys in 1971. She enjoyed reading and playing bridge.

Taylor formed the first Mount Airy Appearance Committee and served as its first president. She served as president of both the Mount Airy Altrusa Club and of the Surry County Democratic Women. She served on the state professional review committee; as chairman and president of the American Cancer Society, Surry County Unit; and as a member of the Juvenile Justice Task Force of Surry County.

She served three years as a board member and president of the North Carolina Women in Municipal Government. She also served as the first vice chairman of the State League Commission with the N.C. Department of Transportation, Communication and Public Safety.

She was a former president of the Mount Airy Chapter of the N.C. Association of Educators and held offices on local and district NCAE boards. She was also president of the Classroom Teacher’s Association and served four four-year terms on the State Textbook Commission.

Contact Mondee Tilley at mtilley@mtairynews.com or at 719-1930.