Delores Lee (Taylor) Ames |
| Posted 2009-10-29 by Sharon |
| The Wickenburg Sun, Wickenburg, AZ October 14, 2009, p. A17 Delores Lee Taylor Ames For the world the music died with Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and “The Big Bopper” J.P. Richardson, but for those of us who loved to listen and watch Dodie sing, and play the guitar, the fiddle or the piano, the music died at 2 a.m. Oct. 7, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nev., following her valiant battle with cancer. She was 70. Special thanks from the family to the Veteran’s Administration for their help. At the age of 16, Dodie entered the Navy upon graduation from high school in Aguila. Many of us will never forget the familiar sight of Dodie tuning her guitar, adjusting the settings on her amp, singing “Diggy Liggy Lo,” “Vaya con Dios, My Darling,” “Gold Watch and Chain” or an upbeat country tune she wrote titled “Nickle and Dime.” Everyone who knew Dodie had their favorite song that she was asked to play over and over wherever she went. Music played an important role in Dodie’s life. She taught herself how to play guitar before the age of 10. Later, when she decided to play the harmonica, she bought one. A couple of hours later, she was playing the harmonica like a pro. In her early 30s, she decided to play the fiddle. She bought a second-hand fiddle and within two hours was playing like she was born with a fiddle in her hands. Shortly after that, she repeated the feat with the accordion. Dodie was a natural artist, able to play anything “by ear” on anything she set her mind on to play. On the piano, she could bring down the house. Dodie was an artist in everything she did: From sketches to oil paintings, gardening and decorating. Everything she touched turned beautiful. Like she was. In 1956, this blonde, blue-eyed beauty was crowned “Miss Gold Nugget” in the annual Gold Rush Days celebration in Wickenburg. She always wished she had the means to take in and give sanctuary to every homeless, abused animal she saw: Horses to cats, birds to dogs and anything in between. Every dog she ever owned was one she rescued from an animal shelter or a terrible situation, including the one she had to leave behind, little Dobie, who grieves for her today. Those planning an expression of sympathy are asked to consider the ASPCA to help the fight against animal cruelty by calling (800) 628-0028 or visiting www.aspca.org <http://www.aspca.org/> .Dodie is survived by her brothers Jimmie F. Taylor, Sr. of Anchorage, Alaska, and Ira L. Taylor of Las Vegas, Nev; sister-in-Law, Janice Taylor (Jimmie’s wife) of Anchorage; nephews Jimmie F. Taylor, Jr (Jamie) of Anchorage and Jodie Taylor of Las Vegas; grandchildren Ryan and Randy Thompson of Anchorage and Lori Collum of New Mexico; lifelong friends Corinne (Cokie) Evans Morris of Sun City, Ariz., and Marguerite Black Beaver of Las Vegas; lifelong just-like-family friends Danny and Dorothy Thrasher of Wickenburg; dear friend Julie Adams; daughters Linda Collum of California and Gina (Burns) Hill of Salt Lake City, Utah; and of course, her little dog, too: Dobie. A celebration of Dodie’s life will be held Saturday (Oct. 17) at 2 p.m. at Bar-7 in Wickenburg. Dodie loved to dance, so put your dancin’ shoes on and spin your prettiest partner around the floor. As Dodie would say, “Life’s too short to dance with ugly men.” Wherever you are, Dodie, hopefully you get to sit down and play guitar again with that little boy you once ran away with in Littlefield, Texas, at the age of 5. The little boy who grew up to be Waylon Jennings. |
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