A Grandson’s Testimony.

The Taylor Family

Legacy…Leaving Exceptional Goals Among the Committed Youth

Their names were Anglia and Sylvester Taylor. These two individuals are the core resources of my ambition, drive and inspiration. April 9th 2023 will mark nine years since they have parted ways with this side of life. However, their spirit and legacies live on each day as if they were still here. This is a story of Joshua Taylor, an inspired Grandson.


—My grandmother Anglia Taylor was a Pastor of Zion Hill Holiness Church in Wake Forest, NC and a devoted leader among many. She was the embodiment of humility and patience. She loved God and she loved people with everything that she had. Above all she was a woman of SERVICE within the Church, across many states and most of all, my family. 


—My grandfather Sylvester Taylor was the Deacon of Zion Hill Holiness Church in Wake Forest, NC and a U.S. Army Veteran. He was a very stand up Man of God that not only fought for our family but fought for the lives and freedoms that we have as U.S. citizens today. My grandfather was a man of SERVICE and man of his word.


April 9th 2014 was a pivotal day of my life. Peeling back layers of my childhood prior to that date, I remember it being one of my happiest and most comforting times of my life. Growing up as a military kid, it was routine for us to relocate often and at that point I had already relocated three times by the age of 11. At this point and time my family was living in a city just outside of Detroit, Michigan named Rochester Hills. We had been living there for almost a year at that point and I was beginning to create friendships, play sports and explore different areas of creativity. For me, I was at an all-time high of love, curiosity and happiness which was something I didn’t realize I needed as much until things changed.


On the night of April 9th, 2014, I was enjoying spring break at a famous resort called the Frankenmuth Bavarian Inn with my school friends, mom, and younger sister. Very late that night my sister and I were woken up by our mom when she told us to immediately pack and that we were leaving. I began to complain but it didn’t take long for me to realize that I wasn’t going to change the decision that had been made. Eventually, I discovered that we left the lodge to go home so that my mom could take my dad to the airport to fly to North Carolina. I later learned that, that night, my family and I lost both of my grandparents, Anglia and Sylvester Taylor in a homicide murder by my former uncle. My aunt, Latonya Allen, was also severely beaten and shot many times. Reflecting back on when I first learned this information as an 11 year old, I don’t think I fully grasped and understood the situation and its complexity.


My family had to deal with the difficult loss of two big pillars of our lives, the near-death experience of my aunt, and the betrayal and evil nature of my former uncle. It was truly an overwhelmingly depressive and difficult situation. Along with that, it gained a lot of third-party attention and involvement that was very overwhelming to me as a child. However, in the same moment that it felt like I lost everything, I gained so much more when I realized that I am a part of a family that goes and GROWS through everything together. My Aunt Tonya and Father coined this saying called “WeLove '' during that year and its stuck with my family and I since. “WeLove '' because we know that there are greater powers at work and that we have each other no matter what. The phrase “WeLove'' unintentionally became a staple of who I am and how we overcame this tragedy together. 



Two days after the incident occurred, my mom, sister and I immediately moved to Raleigh, NC to eventually live under one roof with my aunt and I’s family. I remember the crazy feeling when I realized how quickly my entire life changed overnight. One night I was at a resort lodge on a promising path towards a future I was seeking to another night where I’m taking everything I have and starting at square one with no idea of what’s to come. In hindsight I realize that nothing in life is guaranteed and that life can change immediately. Living in the present is the best gift that someone can possess because that person understands that the future is not set in stone. This was something that both of my grandparents fully grasped and understood.


Over the course of the nine years since this experience in my life, I have been inspired by Anglia and Sylvester’s legacy and by my family to continue to love and serve others and to live life in the present.



To Anglia and Sylvester: I am truly honored to call you Grandma and PopPop. I will honor your lives and continue your legacy.



Grandma, I will never forget those nights when you walked around the house pleading the Blood of Jesus while we were sleeping and how you would teach us the importance of the Word. PopPop, I’ll never forget the simple life skills you’ve taught me of how to harvest homegrown fruits and vegetables and the bigger picture of those lessons. Thank you for everything, until we meet again.


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