Highway engineer; talented artist and musician
NORTH READING — Florence Lillian Bredenberg passed away on December 23, 2021.
Florence was born on March 18, 1932 in Malden, Mass. She was the daughter of Harold and Gladys (Symmes) Bredenberg. Florence grew up in Everett, Mass. She was a straight-A student and graduated with honors from Everett High School in 1949. She then attended the Massachusetts College of Art. In 1951 Florence married Herbert Taylor (now deceased). His work as an engineer for General Electric took them to California where they lived in Woodland Hills. After a few years, missing family and life in New England, they returned back East, settling in North Reading, where she was a resident for the past 65 years.
As a young girl, Florence loved her cat Dusty, horseback riding and spending summers in Georgetown, Maine. During World War II, in her teen years, she performed locally with the USO, singing, yodeling and playing Western songs on the guitar, entertaining hospitalized soldiers that were injured in battle.
As an adult, influenced by Impressionist painting styles, Florence was an avid and talented artist who specialized in watercolor land and seascapes, painting in the “Rockport style.” She was a member of the Rockport Art Association, North Shore Art Association and the Reading Art Association. Many of her paintings adorn the walls of homes throughout New England. Self-taught on the piano and guitar, she loved singing with family and friends at holiday gatherings.
She worked 26 years as a highway engineer for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. She was always curious as to how things worked, from how airplanes could fly to how an MRI worked. In her later years, she would frequently be heard saying, “Could you look this up on your smartphone?”
Florence was also an avid gardener and focused the last decade of her life tending to her garden. She always knew the name of the plant that couldn’t be identified or the bird whose song couldn’t be recognized.
She is survived by two sons, Michael Taylor and his partner Nancy Phinney of Beverly and James Taylor of Royalston, Mass. She has two grandchildren, Robert Taylor of Reading and Catherine Taylor of Arlington, Virginia.
Services were private. Please plant a tree in Florence’s name. A Living Tribute of Greenwich, Conn., and the Arbor Day Foundation are a couple reputable organizations. Arrangements by Croswell Funeral Home, North Reading. To leave an online message of condolence, please visit: www.croswellfuneralhome.com.