Mary Louise TaberFebruary 4, 1929 - August 18, 2009
After a lengthy illness, longtime Dixon resident and community leader Mary Louise Taber quietly passed away in her sleep on Tuesday, August 18, 2009. The second daughter of James E. and Olive M. Wiggins, Mary Louise was born in Oakland, CA on February 4, 1929. She had just celebrated her 80th birthday in her Dixon home, lovingly surrounded by family and friends earlier in the year.The young Wiggins family first moved from the Bay Area to a farm on Upper Hastings Tract, south of Dixon, in the spring of 1932. Along with her older sister, Jane, Mary Louise attended Maine Prairie School, a one-room school house located off Highway 113 not far from present day Argyll Park. In the late 1930s, the family moved to housing on site at Reclamation District 2068 when father Jim Wiggins became manager of the small irrigation district in southeastern Solano County. In 1938 when she was in the sixth grade, Mary Louise began attending Dixon Grammar School. One favorite memory was of eighth grade English teacher and school principal Mr. CA Jacobss classes.While at Dixon High School, Mary Louise was active on both the school newspaper and yearbook staffs, in the Spanish Club, and GAA (Girls Athletic Association). She graduated from DHS in 1945, the year World War II ended. Mary Louise spent her freshman year of college at UC Davis then transferred to UC Berkeley where she received her BA degree in political science in 1949. One highlight of her years at UCB was, as a staff writer for the Daily Cal, her interview with Cal alumnus and rising movie star, Gregory Peck. Following her UC graduation, Mary Louise headed east to Washington, DC, where she was offered employment in the federal government. She also spent 18 months working abroad in Trieste, Italy before returning to the nations capital.During Christmas, 1954, while living and working in San Francisco, Mary Louise went on a blind date with a charmingly fun young man, Art Taber, who later became her partner for life. After a whirlwind courtship, Art and Mary Louise married at the Dixon Community Church on June 18, 1955. Family quickly followed with the birth of the couples first of three daughters, Shane in February, 1956, then Margaret (Meg) in November, 1957, and finally Dallas in October, 1959. By then the Taber family was living in Sparks, NV where Mary Louise was a full time mom and Art was an accountant for the Riverside Hotel and Casino in Reno.
The Taber family relocated to Dixon in 1960 when Art accepted a position as business manager at the Solano Irrigation District (SID). Together they started their signature business, Taber Income Tax Service, which served the Dixon community for 46 years. In addition to the tax business, Mary Louise also became a real estate agent and later a broker, owning her own Century 21 franchise for many years. She was a charter member of the Solano Napa Chapter California Society of Enrolled Agents.
Together with her husband, Mary Louise Taber served the Dixon community in nearly every volunteer capacity possible. From classroom mom and Sunday school teacher, to Girl Scout leader, to serving on both the Dixon Planning Commission and the Dixon Library Commission, to organizing the annual Toys for Tots program, Mary Louise always put service to her community first. In addition, Mary Louise was also a charter member and past president of the Davis branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) as well as served as AAUW California secretary for several years.
Art and Mary Louise were also charter members of the Dixon Scottish Cultural Association and enjoyed many years of involvement with organizing the clubs annual Scottish Games. She was also a 25+ year member and past president of Soroptimist International of Dixon, actively involved with countless fundraising activities. One of the highlights of her Soroptimist experiences was being a member of the California state delegation to the 31st Biennial Convention held in Kyoto, Japan in 1990. In her later years, she served on the board of directors for the Village Green Homeowners Association and the Maui Lea Time Interval Owners Association as well as on the board of trustees of the Dixon United Methodist Church.
Mary Louise was an avid reader, gardener, cook, and world traveler. Together with her beloved Art, she made multiple trips to eastern and western Europe, Japan, New Zealand, Fiji, plus cruises to Alaska, the Caribbean, and New England. In particular, they loved taking their annual trip to their time share condo on Maui, Hawaii. As soon as the income tax season ended each April 15th, Mary Louise and Art immediately posted the closed sign on their office door and often headed out to some exotic, remote location to relax and unwind.Preceding her in death were her parents Jim and Olive Wiggins and her husband of nearly 50 years, Arthur D. Taber. Mary Louise is survived by her three daughters, Shane Taber, Margaret Taber, and Dallas Freeman as well as her son-in-law, Kerry Freeman; sister, Jane Wiggins Samuelson; nephews, Steve and Don Teeter; grandchildren, Diego Luna, Olivia Luna, Kira Luna, and Ariel Luna; plus grand-nephews, James and Ken Teeter. She will also be missed by her much loved dog, Max.
A memorial service will be held at the Dixon United Methodist Church, 209 North Jefferson Street, Dixon at 3 P.M. on Friday, August 28. Inurnment will be private at the Silveyville Cemetery. A reception for friends and family to celebrate Mary Louises full and productive life will be held immediately following the memorial service at the Jess Jones Vineyard, south of Dixon off Highway 113
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Donations may be made to the Mary Louise Taber Book Fund at the Dixon Public Library, 230 North First Street, Dixon, CA 95620.
Time is a companion that goes with us on a journey. It reminds us to cherish each moment, because it will never come again. What we leave behind is not as important as how we have lived. -Captain Jean-Luc Picard, USS Enterprise.
