lizabeth Ann Floyd

Elizabeth Ann Floyd was born on the 16th day of November in the year of our Lord 1944, to William Coker and Sally Howell Coker, in Lee County, in the small, quiet town of Smiths Station, Alabama. She was the third born of six children. From an early age, little Liz, as she was known by her family and friends, was strong minded and determined to make a way for herself. Conditions in the south were less than favorable in the late 1940’s and 50’s, and Elizabeth was eager to leave home and see what the world had to offer. So around the age of 15 she left Alabama and made her way out West where she temporarily stayed with her Aunt Bessie Mae Turner, her fathers sister, and her husband Vance Turner. Shortly after arriving in California, Elizabeth met John Baker. Their relationship grew, and they later married and gave birth to Elizabeth’s first child, Teressa Lashon Baker. Unfortunately, the marriage didn’t last, and they soon divorced after just 3 years. It wasn’t long before young Elizabeth found herself in a new relationship with an Air Force cadet named Harold Taylor of Marysville, CA.

After a short courtship, young Elizabeth gave birth to her second child, Howard Lavon Taylor. Another son, Gerald (Jerry) DeBois Taylor, soon followed. Sadly, that relationship ended, and Elizabeth found herself single again with three young children to care for. Never one to give up, she turned to her faith in the Lord. Driven by her desire to make a life for herself and her children, she returned to Alabama to be with her family and build a foundation for herself and her children. After years of being single and working on her career, she decided to give love another try. She met and later married William Floyd and the newly married couple brought forth a beautiful daughter that they named Joyce Michelle Floyd. Now a family of five, Elizabeth was young, beautiful and ambitious as ever to make her mark. In 1972, she moved her family from Smiths Station, Alabama to Pacoima, CA. There she began her career as a pre school teacher with the Meridian School District.

She also received her certificate in cosmetology from Ramar Beauty College. Sticking to her strict southern upbringing, she took her kids to church every Sunday where they were members of the St. Paul Baptist Church in Pacoima, under the leadership of Pastor E. L. Clinton. Elizabeth (sister Floyd) was active in several ministries in the church. She served on the usher board. She sang in the choir. She was a member of the Eastern Star. She also organized church functions (picnics, fundraisers, weddings, anniversaries), and was instrumental in the growth and development of the church. Elizabeth was a lifelong student and earned her high school diploma at the age of 40. She went on to earn her Associates Arts degree from L A Mission College in 1988. She also held credentials as a licensed Notary Public from the State of California.

But her true calling was ministry. She loved helping people. This passion for helping others led her to the funeral service industry where she began a 30 year career working alongside Joel Rucker at Ruckers Mortuary in Pacoima, CA. Ever the student and wanting to know everything she could about the funeral business. Elizabeth went back to school where she earned her credentials in Advanced Mortuary Study – Restorative Art, from the Cypress College Mortuary Science Department in Cypress, CA. She was also a member of the Epsilon Nu Delta Mortuary Fraternity. In addition to that, she received her Certificate of Training from the Department of Veterans Affairs in the field of Funeral Planning in August, 1988, her Certificate of Achievement as a licensed Funeral Program Funeral Director from the Department of Consumer Affairs in August, 1988, her Certificate of Achievement as a Licensed Insurance Producer for Funeral and Burial Expenses from the State of California Department of Insurance in January, 2004. She received a Certificate of Appreciation from the City of Los Angeles for her dedication and outstanding service to the Pacoima Neighborhood Council during her tenure as a board member.

She was also very active in her community and was instrumental in bringing the Lowes shopping plaza to the San Fernando Valley, working side by side with city council men and women, to help create employment opportunities for the inner city. She worked faithfully as a Licensed Vocational Nurse at Pacifica Hospital in Sun Valley, CA for over 36 years, where she was loved and respected by everyone that worked with her. She later started her own non profit, Floyds Mission, where she distributed food and supplies to the homeless and less fortunate. She was involved in every aspect of nurturing and teaching, not just her children, but all the children she met. I watched my mother work the 7pm to 7am shift for over 30 years and she never complained about it. Oftentimes she would come home after working a 12 hour shift, and without so much as taking a 30 minute nap, she would change clothes, then go work a funeral or attend a class or help someone who had lost a family member. She was a servant in every sense of the word. She was without question, the strongest, most amazing woman I’ve ever known. If you knew her, she probably did something to help you; That’s who she was.

Elizabeth was preceded in death by her oldest son Howard Baker Taylor, her youngest daughter Joyce Baker Floyd, her two brothers, William Coker and Samuel Coker, both of Smith Station, Alabama, her youngest sister Linda Coker, also of Smith Station, Alabama. She leaves behind to carry on her legacy, her oldest daughter Teressa Baker of Sylmar, CA, her youngest son Gerald (Jerry) Baker Taylor, her grandchildren Gerah Taylor of Rialto, CA, Leah Taylor of Valencia/Pacoima, CA, Lee McQuilken, of Lancaster, CA, Destinee Baker of Pacoima, CA, Ronald Briggs of Pacoima, CA, and her great grandson Joshua Williams of Pacoima, CA. She also leaves behind her only remaining sibling, Fannie Lamar of Smith Station, Alabama and her husband William Lamar, two sisters in law, Lamuriel Coker (William Coker), Shirley and Charles White, her nephew Robert and Evelyn Howell of Arizona, her great niece Daniqua Brown Williams and her life partner Theo Williams of Sylmar, CA, her adopted son Michael Wright of Santa Clarita, CA, and a host of extended family, friends and associates, too many to name.