Elizabeth City Girls Inc. director was dedicated to children

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C.

Jane Taylor left her mark throughout Girls Inc. of The Albemarle.

On Friday, several of the children celebrating the last day of the Girls Inc. summer program pointed to their faces painted with hearts or flamingoes and said, "I got this for Miss Jane."

Flamingoes had always been a favorite of Taylor's.

An inflatable flamingo, called "Miss Jane," was passed among several girls who took turns dancing her around the room, giving her a piggy-back ride to the playground or showing her off to others.

Construction paper birthday cards, made by the children who had spent their summer at Girls Inc., were posted everywhere.

"Happy Birthday Mrs. Jane," one said in blue marker.

In red crayon, another card said, "We miss you."

Her birthday celebration took place Thursday at Girls Inc., the day after she died.

The executive director of Girls Inc. was 58.

"We didn't close this week," said Dawn Cressman, program director and interim executive director. "She wouldn't have let us."

On Wednesday morning, when the children arrived at Girls Inc. for the summer program, Cressman said the staff sat them down and explained what had happened.

The staff had already been planning the birthday party for Taylor, and they decided to go forward with it on Thursday.

"She may not be here, but we're still celebrating," Cressman said.

In the cards, she said, the children were able to write down how they felt about "Miss Jane" and her absence from the organization that she poured her heart into.

Taylor came to Girls Inc. in 1997 and arrived daily at 5 a.m. Cressman said she didn't even know exactly when she left every day.

She had been out throughout the summer because first her mother was sick and then recently she became sick.

But even away from Girls Inc., she was always checking on her girls, Cressman said.

"She was just a gift from God," Cressman said. "We got to have her here for a little while, but God just needed her now."

Taylor always said fresh flowers were a waste of money, Cressman said, and was planning for any children who attended her Saturday funeral to drop tissue flowers on the casket.

"She always directed money to Girls Inc.," Cressman said.

The Girls Inc. board is scheduled to meet next week to decide its future, but Cressman said the doors will remain open.

"We can't fill her shoes," she said. "But we're going to try."

The after-school program is scheduled to begin Aug. 25.

Lauren King, (252) 338-2413, lauren.king@pilotonline.com