Some of Jane Taylor’s earliest faith formation took place in
close proximity to the heart of the Catholic Church in Rome. She spent three
years in Naples, Italy, when her father was stationed there in the Navy. She
made her first Communion with a bishop and was confirmed by a cardinal. She had
the opportunity to attend a private audience with Pope Pius XII along with the
other Navy wives and children. “As an 8- or 9-year-old it made a huge impact,”
she said. The pope died soon after and Taylor remembers the church bells
ringing for 24 hours.
Her faith remained strong through the years until the death of
her son, Andy, when he was 13 months old. “I couldn’t understand how this could
happen to someone who was innocent,” she said. When her daughter was born two
years later, Taylor said it renewed her faith. “God gave me a miracle.”
Her faith led her to the preschool at St. John the Apostle Church
in Leesburg following 20 years as a middle and high school administrator.
“Sixteen years ago I was running on a bike path when suddenly I
had a revelation. I heard a voice in my head telling me to apply for the director
of St. John the Apostle Preschool,” she said. “The voice was clear and loud and
I had no doubt that it was God. I knew I
had a new calling in life. Sixteen years later, I’m still at the preschool
helping our children develop a love of our faith.”
Taylor is the preschool director at St. John the Apostle Church,
with 71 preschoolers and a staff of seven. The job has strengthened her faith
even more. “We are able to instill faith in the way public schools can’t,” she
said.
Taylor chose to work in education because teachers made a
difference in her life and she wanted to make a difference in the lives of
other children.
“When I see the excitement on children’s faces for the things we
do it really touches me,” she said.
Looking for a way to honor her son and to help others, Taylor recently
committed $1 million to establish an early childhood development center at
Longwood University in Farmville. She graduated from the university in 1971. The
Andy Taylor Center for Early Childhood Development will open in August.
“As an educator, I chose Longwood’s early childhood development center
because of the positive impact it will have on children of the community for years,”
she said.
It will provide cutting-edge early childhood education to the
children of the college staff, as well as those in the community. The center
will employ the Reggio Emilia method of instruction, which encourages children
to explore their environment and express themselves in a variety of ways,
including through art, drama, dance and sculpture, according to a press release
about the center. The “cutting edge” approach appealed to Taylor and she said
it seemed a perfect fit for honoring her son.
“My faith made me a stronger person after his death,”
she said. “I wanted the sadness of his death to result in positive experiences
for others who were less fortunate than we were. We teach charity and giving hope to others.”
