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Jayne Taylor Taraski died on Saturday, April 11, 2026 on Edisto Island, SC, sitting in her favorite chair with the door open for a view of the ocean and a breeze through the house, as was her wish.
Jayne was the youngest child of Arthur Samuel Taylor and Alice Brazell Taylor, born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts in 1945. She was predeceased by her parents and her siblings Mary Newhouse, Patricia Keaney, and Arthur Taylor, whom she loved and missed dearly. Jayne was a proud alumna of the former Marlboro College in Vermont, earning a bachelor’s degree in costume design. She was a longtime resident of Franklin, Massachusetts before retiring to Edisto Island, SC and Hampton Beach, NH.
Jayne was an artist at heart and in practice, who made everything more beautiful. From designing school plays’ sets and elaborate Halloween costumes, dreaming up coordinated Easter outfits and wedding dresses for her daughters, surrounding herself with her favorite color purple, cutting and soldering stained glass windows, to creating hundreds of signs during her many years as a graphic designer at Advanced Signing in Medway - Jayne’s ability to transform everything she touched into something she would describe as “beauteous” was remarkable. And she was ahead of the more recent artisanal zeitgeist, owning and operating her store Kidstuff, filled with her hand-crafted clothing and toys in downtown Franklin in the early 1980s.
Music was a BIG part of Jayne’s life. Her beautiful soprano voice rang out clear and strong, first with the Fitchburg High School glee club, then with the Blanche Moyse Chorale in Vermont, followed by more than 20 years with the Charles River Chorale in Millis. Jayne loved all music genres, from Bach to ROCK. She attended hundreds of concerts, everything from Black Oak Arkansas in the 80s with her niece, to the first Lollapalooza in 1991, to Hall and Oates most recently. U2, Bruce Springsteen, Chris Cornell, Kurt Cobain, and Sting were among her favorites. She was especially glad when her dear friends Janet and Jim Swarr were right there rocking out with her.
The only thing Jayne loved more than music, art, and beauty was her family. She leaves behind her utterly devoted husband of 56 years, Ted Taraski. From the moment that their eyes locked across a Millis snowbank in December 1969 until her passing, they were deeply in love. Jayne and Ted’s daughters, Jessica, Rachel, and Rebecca, were lucky to always be surrounded by that love, her deep generosity, and unwavering support. Jayne adored her grandchildren, Jasper and Ezra Shepard and Koen and Brooke Bonetti, and was always happy to travel so she could be in the audience for their games, plays, and concerts. She loved her sons-in-law, Adam Shepard and Kurt Bonetti, like sons she never had. Jayne was born a Taylor but fully embraced being a Taraski, which meant she got bonus family with Patricia (Taraski) and her husband Roger Lusignan of Murrell’s Inlet, SC and Alan Taraski and Cindy Honcharuk of Franklin, MA. She felt lucky to enjoy an especially close connection with her late mother-in-law Jean Gray Taraski, whom she affectionately called Ma.
Jayne was so glad that her love for her siblings could continue through her role as aunt to her many nieces and nephews and their families: Ellen and Rich Kallman of Ipswich, MA, Elsa Kallman and Dan Noonan of Dublin, Ireland, and Lilly Kallman of Brooklyn, NY; Maura, Kyle, Adam, and Inoela Shoulkin of Wellesley, MA; Chris Keaney of Hampton, NH; Stephen and Danielle Keaney of Seabrook, NH; Kerri Peyton and Traci Taraski Shraenkler of Florida, Alisa, Olivia, and Jules Smith of Frankfurt, Germany; Sarah, Steve, and Sam Mikulka of Somerville, MA; Andrea, Eric, Lucas, and Isabel Moynier of Brooklyn, NY; Rita Haley of Plymouth, MA, Geoffrey Cadogan of Northbridge, MA, Jeremy Haley of Clinton, MA, Meaghan Haley of Salem, MA; Jimmy Taylor of Florida; and Janet, Amber, and Derek Taylor of Alabama.
Jayne’s family is grateful for the kind and supportive care that she received from Hospice. Their empathetic, wrap-around services were invaluable.
Interment arrangements are under the direction of Roberts Mitchell Caruso Funeral Home in Medfield, MA. Friends and family are invited to attend an informal graveside gathering of remembrance on May 2, 2026 at 11:00 AM at Prospect Hill Cemetery in Millis.
We hope that you remember Jayne each time you wear purple or turn up the volume of your favorite song.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Marlboro College Alumni Association https://www.marlborocollegealumniassociation.com/give or the Charles River Chorale https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/JW64K9UNUY9ME in her memory.
