1931
Mrs.
2015
Mrs. Judith Taggart
September 1, 1931 — May 11, 2015
Judith Ann (Ferrell) Taggart
September 1, 1931 – May 11, 2015
Judith Ann Taggart, 83, formerly of Arlington, Virginia, passed away Monday, May 11 in Overland Park, Kansas, where she had been living since 2011. Mrs. Taggart was the founder and chairman of JT&A Inc., in Washington, D.C., which grew to become a leading environmental outreach and education company in the United States.
Mrs. Taggart was born September 1, 1931 in Atchison, Kansas, to Alfred Carl and Mabel Anna (nee Samson) Ferrell. She was a descendant on her mother’s Samson side of Capt. Myles Standish of the Mayflower. Her father, a former mayor of Atchison, established the A.C. Ferrell Butane Gas Company in Atchison in 1939, which today as Ferrellgas serves approximately one million customers in all 50 states.
In near-blizzard conditions, Mrs. Taggart married William A. Taggart on the evening of January 26, 1957 at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Atchison. He died in 2009. They were the parents of four children, all surviving. They are William (Bonnie) Taggart of Overland Park, Kansas, Lura Svestka of Leesburg, Virginia, Sarah (Tom) Crowson of Pilot Mountain, North Carolina, and Carlene (Brent) Bahler of Indianapolis. Also surviving Mrs. Taggart are six grandchildren and one great-grandchild, as well as two brothers, James (Zibbie) Ferrell and Robert (Julia) Ferrell.
Prior to her marriage, Mrs. Taggart attended and graduated from Mount St. Scholastica College in Atchison, which in 1971 merged with Benedictine College. She earned a masters degree in journalism from Kansas University in 1955. She also served on the board of trustees for Benedictine College.
Prior to moving to the Washington area in 1970, Mrs. Taggart helped design the English curriculum at Johnson County (Kansas) Community College. After moving to the East Coast, she was an associate professor at Prince Georges Community College in Largo, Maryland, where she taught courses in journalism, technical writing, composition, and editing. As the student newspaper’s faculty advisor, she guided students in publishing a paper that was recognized nationally for excellence.
In Washington, Mrs. Taggart quickly gained a reputation for her ability to translate complex, technical, and scientific materials into simple terms for lay audiences. She was instrumental in developing many programs and materials still in use today, including the first educational and outreach materials on nonpoint source pollution for the U.S. EPA , materials for American Wetlands Month and Audubon’s America, and was involved in developing and hosting the first National Watershed Conference.
Mrs. Taggart also served as the leader of the Education Working Group for the Forum on Nonpoint Source Pollution convened by the Conservation Fund and the National Geographic, and as the U.S. delegate to the RAMSAR Convention. She has served a number of organizations, beginning with the North American Lake Management Society, operating its national office and developing its publications while growing the organization from less than 200 members to more than 2,000, and managed the not-for-profit Terrene Institute for more than a decade.
Mrs. Taggart earned a well-known reputation for her ability to achieve a balanced approach to addressing environmental issues, thus enabling JT&A to succeed with the National Mitigation & Ecosystem Banking Conference as well as its EnviroScape® models used around the world as environmental education and communications tools.
Even while pursuing her professional career, Mrs. Taggart was a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother who played an active role in the lives of every member of her family. Active in Republican politics, she was also an avid baker and gardener, often inviting her grandchildren to share in the joys of each.
In retirement, Mrs. Taggart was a committed KU fan who with her husband faithfully joined other Kansas fans at DC-area sports bars to root on her Jayhawks. Her love of travel took her to the far corners of the world with her husband, domestic trips with her grandchildren (Colonial Williamsburg was a favorite destination), and an annual get-together with a handful of close college classmates who remained lifelong friends.
The Taggarts were well known for hosting their traditional Thanksgiving Day dinners, inviting into their home large numbers of friends and relatives with Mrs. Taggart personally and proudly taking charge of making lump-free gravy. For many years each summer, the Taggarts would gather their children and grandchildren for a week of relaxation in the Outer Banks in North Carolina.
Mrs. Taggart completed writing a memoir of her life several years ago, thus making it possible for her children and grandchildren and future generations to know the stories of her childhood, marriage, family, and career.
A memorial service in celebration of Mrs. Taggart’s life will be held at 2p.m. on Saturday, May 16 at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, 7851 West 119th St., Overland Park, with inurnment in Arlington National Cemetery at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, contributions in memory of Mrs. Taggart may be made to the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica or to Benedictine College, both in Atchison, Kansas.
September 1, 1931 – May 11, 2015
Judith Ann Taggart, 83, formerly of Arlington, Virginia, passed away Monday, May 11 in Overland Park, Kansas, where she had been living since 2011. Mrs. Taggart was the founder and chairman of JT&A Inc., in Washington, D.C., which grew to become a leading environmental outreach and education company in the United States.
Mrs. Taggart was born September 1, 1931 in Atchison, Kansas, to Alfred Carl and Mabel Anna (nee Samson) Ferrell. She was a descendant on her mother’s Samson side of Capt. Myles Standish of the Mayflower. Her father, a former mayor of Atchison, established the A.C. Ferrell Butane Gas Company in Atchison in 1939, which today as Ferrellgas serves approximately one million customers in all 50 states.
In near-blizzard conditions, Mrs. Taggart married William A. Taggart on the evening of January 26, 1957 at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Atchison. He died in 2009. They were the parents of four children, all surviving. They are William (Bonnie) Taggart of Overland Park, Kansas, Lura Svestka of Leesburg, Virginia, Sarah (Tom) Crowson of Pilot Mountain, North Carolina, and Carlene (Brent) Bahler of Indianapolis. Also surviving Mrs. Taggart are six grandchildren and one great-grandchild, as well as two brothers, James (Zibbie) Ferrell and Robert (Julia) Ferrell.
Prior to her marriage, Mrs. Taggart attended and graduated from Mount St. Scholastica College in Atchison, which in 1971 merged with Benedictine College. She earned a masters degree in journalism from Kansas University in 1955. She also served on the board of trustees for Benedictine College.
Prior to moving to the Washington area in 1970, Mrs. Taggart helped design the English curriculum at Johnson County (Kansas) Community College. After moving to the East Coast, she was an associate professor at Prince Georges Community College in Largo, Maryland, where she taught courses in journalism, technical writing, composition, and editing. As the student newspaper’s faculty advisor, she guided students in publishing a paper that was recognized nationally for excellence.
In Washington, Mrs. Taggart quickly gained a reputation for her ability to translate complex, technical, and scientific materials into simple terms for lay audiences. She was instrumental in developing many programs and materials still in use today, including the first educational and outreach materials on nonpoint source pollution for the U.S. EPA , materials for American Wetlands Month and Audubon’s America, and was involved in developing and hosting the first National Watershed Conference.
Mrs. Taggart also served as the leader of the Education Working Group for the Forum on Nonpoint Source Pollution convened by the Conservation Fund and the National Geographic, and as the U.S. delegate to the RAMSAR Convention. She has served a number of organizations, beginning with the North American Lake Management Society, operating its national office and developing its publications while growing the organization from less than 200 members to more than 2,000, and managed the not-for-profit Terrene Institute for more than a decade.
Mrs. Taggart earned a well-known reputation for her ability to achieve a balanced approach to addressing environmental issues, thus enabling JT&A to succeed with the National Mitigation & Ecosystem Banking Conference as well as its EnviroScape® models used around the world as environmental education and communications tools.
Even while pursuing her professional career, Mrs. Taggart was a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother who played an active role in the lives of every member of her family. Active in Republican politics, she was also an avid baker and gardener, often inviting her grandchildren to share in the joys of each.
In retirement, Mrs. Taggart was a committed KU fan who with her husband faithfully joined other Kansas fans at DC-area sports bars to root on her Jayhawks. Her love of travel took her to the far corners of the world with her husband, domestic trips with her grandchildren (Colonial Williamsburg was a favorite destination), and an annual get-together with a handful of close college classmates who remained lifelong friends.
The Taggarts were well known for hosting their traditional Thanksgiving Day dinners, inviting into their home large numbers of friends and relatives with Mrs. Taggart personally and proudly taking charge of making lump-free gravy. For many years each summer, the Taggarts would gather their children and grandchildren for a week of relaxation in the Outer Banks in North Carolina.
Mrs. Taggart completed writing a memoir of her life several years ago, thus making it possible for her children and grandchildren and future generations to know the stories of her childhood, marriage, family, and career.
A memorial service in celebration of Mrs. Taggart’s life will be held at 2p.m. on Saturday, May 16 at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, 7851 West 119th St., Overland Park, with inurnment in Arlington National Cemetery at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, contributions in memory of Mrs. Taggart may be made to the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica or to Benedictine College, both in Atchison, Kansas.
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