Lois Taylor

Lois Irene Constant Taylor, an International Mission Board missionary emeritus who shared the gospel among American Affinity Peoples in Ecuador and Colombia, died Feb. 6, 2020. She was 78.

Taylor was born Feb. 17, 1941, on a farm southeast of Blackwell, Oklahoma, to Olen B. Constant and Eva I. Dodson Constant. At age 8, she trusted Jesus as her Savior.

Taylor graduated from Blackwell High School and attended Oklahoma Baptist University, Shawnee, where she studied business and religious education. While at OBU, Lois married Delbert Leroy Taylor in August 1959, and they continued their education at OBU. In 1961, she and Delbert moved to Fort Worth, Texas, to attend Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Taylor was the first woman to receive a diploma in theology from the seminary.

Taylor wrote when seeking missionary appointment that in high school she was deeply concerned that others know she was a Christian, and that she wanted them to be also. When she attended the state Baptist assembly at Falls Creek during the summers, she wrote she sometimes felt “a definite pull toward missions.”

That feeling grew as she as Delbert served churches in Oklahoma and Texas and continued their education.

While in seminary, Lois and Delbert answered God’s call to be foreign missionaries, serving more than 30 years in Colombia and Ecuador, where they started and helped develop churches. After retiring in November 2001, they made their home in Mangum, Oklahoma, where she was active with family and church activities. She also continued to enjoy spending time with horses.

Delbert preceded her in death in 2017.

Lois is survived by daughter Loy Del Sawyer (Johnny), daughter Kandy Medlock (George) and son Lance Taylor (Carisa). She is also survived by her brother, Wayne Constant (Janice), eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

A memorial service was held Feb. 15 at Martha Road Baptist Church in Altus, Okla.

Donations in her memory may be made to either the Oklahoma Baptist Homes for Children at obhc.org or the International Mission Board, 3806 Monument Avenue, Richmond, VA 23230, or online at www.imb.org/give.

Read an obituary here.