Consuelo Cope Taylor

Consuelo Cope Taylor, 97, of Great Falls a beautiful mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother died serenely at Peace Hospice on Saturday, October 26, 2013 of congestive heart failure and other age-related diseases. Her daughter and son-in-law, Judge Thomas and Lisa McKittrick were by her side. Her grandson, Matthew McKittrick and his family kept a vigil the entire day. Her granddaughter, Marissa McKittrick Ostby and her family were also on the phone and with her, lovingly in spirit during this sad time. Visitation will be held Friday, November 1, 2013 from 2 pm to 5 pm at O’Connor Funeral Home. Burial will be held at a later date at Arlington National Cemetery where she will be interred alongside her beloved husband Les. Also interred there are her father, mother, sister, and brother-in-law. Connie was born in Persia, TN on January 28, 1916. She was the youngesr daughter of Captain Elijah Cope, USN, and his wife Virginia Dellinger Cope. She was reared and educated primarily in New York City and Bucks County, PA. Connie was very close to her grandfather, Daniel Newton Dellinger, a pioneer Butte businessman who also owned a silver mine and had property interests in Butte and Anaconda in the 1870’s and 1880’s. Connie met the love of her life, a Naval Academy graduate, Commander Leslie Kelly Taylor and the two were married for almost 63 years. Connie was at Pearl Harbor during the attack by the Japanese on December 7, 1941 with her older children Bruce and Linda. Her husband, who was stationed there at the time, had left for San Francisco to have his ship overhauled. She vividly remembered sirens, intense smoke, bombs dropping, sitting by her radio for news, and being evacuated by an aircraft that had a hole in the floor through which she could see ground and water. After the war, two more children, Lisa and Kelly, were born and they settled in Arlington, VA. Connie had a great sense of humor, recalling interesting events and writing wonderful, jovial letters, which are treasured and reread often. From childhood, she maintained a great love for reading and books. Her homemade pies were next to none, having learned the art of baking from her mother. Her love for her family was unconditional, and she always accepted people the way they were. After Les died in 2000, Connie moved to Great Falls to be with her daughter Lisa and son-in-law Tom. Due to physical disabilities, she lived at Cambridge Court and was devotedly cared for by the staff for almost ten years. Connie is survived by her daughters, Lisa McKittrick and her husband, Tom, Linda Horciza and her husband, Ed, of Petaluma, CA; son Bruce Taylor of New Jersey; grandchildren Matthew (Stacy) McKittrick of Great Falls, Marissa (Luke) Ostby of Lake Oswego, OR, and Ernest (Barbara), Peter (April), and Alexandra Horciza of California; great-grandchildren London and Sloane Ostby, Devin McKittrick, Matthew, Lauren, Lacey, Jacob, Austin, Elsa, and Adalyn of California; dear nieces Mary Hobart and Mimi Hiemenz; and wonderful nephews Jack, Cope, and Gregory Hiemenz, Doug and Taylor Goode. She was preceded in death by her parents; son Kelly in 2003; her lovely sister, Peggy Hiemenz last April; and brother-in-law Capt. Herbert Hiemenz USN. Connie will be profoundly missed by all who loved her.