Rhonda Taylor
Rhonda Kay Taylor passed away quietly at home in her sleep on Sept. 27, 2023, after a 5-year battle with cancer.
Rhonda was born and grew up in Decator and Julliet, Illinois. After earning her teaching degree, she set off to the East Coast and settled in Virginia Beach, where she taught elementary school, touching the lives of hundreds of children.
When the opportunity arose to retire and head off to Yokosuka, Japan, off they went and began the adventure. She took the opportunity to make some lifelong friends and explore the culture and country. She joined Ikebana International, where she learned and competed in Japanese flower arranging. She followed this with learning tea ceremony and was her sensei's only American student. She traveled to the far corners of Japan, including Tokyo, Kyoto, Yokohama, Kamakura, Yokosuka, Enoshima, Hiroshima and Kanazawa, plus many more.
After exploring Japan, Rhonda headed off to southeast Asia, Beijing, Singapore, Bangkok, Hanoi, the Hmong villages in northern Vietnam, and the temples of Ankor Watt. She was in Yokohama for the great earthquake, tsunami and Fukushima nuclear disaster. She evacuated to Okinawa for two weeks before traveling with her husband back to Yokosuka to aid the U.S. Navy's support of the Japanese people.
When the adventure in Japan ended, a new set of adventures presented themselves in San Diego. She spent time exploring the different neighborhoods and Japanese gardens in southern California. She visited Seattle, Portland, Ventura, Oahu, Maui, as well as The Sequoias. During this time, she also explored Scotland, highlighted by the military tattoo in Edinburg; spent time in Prague and Budapest; and took a nice river cruise up the Danube. This was followed by a trip to Germany, starting in Berlin and working her way down to Munich via train, car and bus, exploring along the way.
Her time in San Diego turned her into a diehard Padres fan, becoming a season ticket holder and attending 60-plus games a year and watching all the others. In San Diego, she continued her love for crafts, took up quilting and sashiko, and finally her true passion, book binding and journal building, which she continued upon her arrival to Bella Vista. Rhonda will be missed.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Dorothy and Dean Linder; and brother, Greg Linder.
She is survived by her husband, Tim Taylor; son, Shawn; daughters, Rhiana and Michelle; sister, Sue and husband Karl Fox; nieces, Heather and Hillary; and nephew, Ryan.
Arrangements are under the direction of Bella Vista Funeral Home & Crematory.
Online condolences may be made at www.funeralmation.com.