Sydney S. Taggart, age 92, passed away on November 15, 2024 in Princeton, NJ. Born on June 7, 1932 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the daughter of Dr. Ward and Marion Shaffer, she was a lifelong environmentalist and gardener, and became an active Garden Club of America horticulture judge.
Sydney graduated from Nichols Hills Grade School, Harding Junior High, and Classen High School, Class of 1950. She attended all of the major reunions and said, “I always had a ball.” She attended the University of Oklahoma where she became a Kappa Kappa Gamma. Sydney was Queen of the Corps at New Mexico Military Institute in 1950, Queen of the Oklahoma City Beaux Arts Ball in 1955, and was a member of the Junior League.
In 1955, Sydney married Charles Lutz Taggart, also of Oklahoma City. They moved to Princeton, NJ, in 1959 where they lived for 25 years. Sydney was active in the Princeton community, as Vice Chair of the Princeton Planning Board, and Chair of the Princeton Borough Traffic Safety Committee. She was also an active member of the Garden Club of Princeton, and actively volunteered for many local causes, including the Hospital Fete supporting Princeton Hospital.
After Princeton, the Taggarts lived in Dedham, MA, Dallas, TX and Worcester, MA, before settling in Wakefield, RI. In Wakefield, she found her paradise on 4 acres on a hill overlooking protected farm fields and forests, the Willow Dell Beach Club, Block Island, and Point Judith Harbor, where Sydney kept track of the time of day, with the comings and goings of the Block Island Ferry. She was active in the South County Garden Club, the Kingston Book Club, Courthouse Center of the Arts, and Willow Dell Historical Association.
Sydney and Charlie spent the last 15 years as residents of Stonebridge at Montgomery, in Rocky Hill, NJ. It became their home, and she remained active as Editor of the Stonebridge Monthly Newsletter and writing over 50 memoirs documenting her and Charlie’s family history.
Sydney is survived by her three sons Peter (Judy), Denver, CO, Ward (Rebecca), Las Vegas, NV, and Carl (Kim), Wayne, PA; 7 grandchildren; and her sister Mrs. Robert M. Rainey III (Rob) of Tulsa, OK.
A memorial service to celebrate the life of Sydney Taggart will be held Saturday, May 3 at 11 a.m., at Stonebridge at Montgomery.
