Susanne Taylor

She was the daughter of Raymond Kendall Hester and Zona Belle Trafton and younger sister to Lawrence Kendall Hester who preceded her in death on July 7, 2025.

She was raised in Monrovia California, graduated from Monrovia Arcadia Duarte (MAD) High School and attended San Jose State University. She was an accomplished pianist, accompanist, performer, and piano instructor to hundreds throughout her life.

Susie loved music. She couldn’t pass a piano without sitting down and playing a few notes. She would sing along to any song she heard and turn tunes she heard into songs of her own. She was loved by everyone she came in contact with and she returned that love with a smile, kind words and encouragement.

She was a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served in many different capacities throughout her life, including in the Los Angeles, Nauvoo and Redlands temples, the Riverside Mission, the Bishops storehouse, and as a pianist, organist and vocalist for church meetings, choirs and functions.

She was married to her sweetheart, Donald Taylor, in Monrovia, California on July 24,1954. They raised their family in Upland, California and then moved to Alta Loma, California where she resided until her passing.

She was the mother of eight children: Richard (Bobi), Roger (Susan), Jill (Sam), Mark (Mondi), Julie (Troy), Diane, David (Jessica), and Jim (Danielle). She was a grandmother to 30 and great grandmother to 64. She was preceded in death by daughter Jill, granddaughter Kaley and Katie Lynn, and great grandchildren Tayler Lily and Chelsea Susanne.

Susie’s funeral service will be held at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 6525 Sapphire Street, Rancho Cucamonga, California, on November 22, 2025, from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm.

She will then be laid to rest at Rose Hills Memorial Park, in Whittier, California.