Nettie W. Taylor, 92, civic, business and church leader

Nettie W. Taylor, 92, a civic, business and church leader in Philadelphia for a half-century who is credited with launching the political career of former Mayor W. Wilson Goode Sr., died Thursday at her son's home in Jacksonville, Fla., where she had lived for four years. She was a longtime resident of Overbrook and Merion.

"Without Nettie Taylor's guidance, I could not have accomplished what I have in my life," said Goode, assistant minister of First Baptist Church of Paschall. "She walked comfortably with movers and shakers, and with the poor who lived in the community of North City Congress. She empowered the powerless, and spoke loudly and clearly for them."

The former Nettie Wolfe was born in 1916 in Cincinnati, the eldest of nine children. After studying at Miami University of Ohio, she began a lifelong career in public service with Butler County (Ohio) Social Services and Aid to Dependent Children, where she worked for 20 years. She was married to Landis Whiteside from 1940 to 1961, when they divorced. The couple had two sons.

During a brief stint as an administrator with the Peace Corps in Washington, she met Samuel L. Taylor, a Baptist minister. They married in 1963 and moved to Overbrook. He became pastor of First Baptist Church of Paschall. Mrs. Taylor was a driving force in the 300-member congregation and the Paschall community, a poor neighborhood of about 2,500 in Southwest Philadelphia.

In 1964, Mrs. Taylor was named deputy executive director of North City Congress, where she built relationships to help fund antipoverty programs. An elegant and self-confident woman, Mrs. Taylor was a leader on many levels.

In 1979, she was named government-relations manager at Bell Telephone Co. of Pennsylvania. She shared her executive acumen with young professionals by organizing a program at the church to provide proper business wardrobes. She retired from Bell in 1995.

Mrs. Taylor was a powerful partner with her husband in financing and building the new First Baptist Church of Paschall on South 71st Street, which opened in 1973. After her husband's death in 1981, Mrs. Taylor led the effort to pay off the loans and burn the church mortgage in 1982.

Mrs. Taylor encouraged young church members in education and civic leadership. In 1966, she obtained a job for Goode with the Philadelphia Council for Community Advancement.

Mrs. Taylor is survived by sons Michael and Reginald Whiteside; four grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; two sisters; and a brother.

Friends may visit at 10 a.m. tomorrow at the First Baptist Church of Paschall, where the funeral will follow at 11. Burial will be in Valley Forge Memorial Park. Donations may be made to the S.L. Taylor Scholarship Fund, First Baptist Church of Paschall, 2240 S. 71st St., Philadelphia 19142.