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Kloe and Sheila Taylor
Sheila Woolsey Taylor loves working with children. From bringing up four of her own, to helping with youth programs at her church, to working with special needs students in an elementary life skills program, she’s dedicated her life to raising the next generation.
Taylor graduated from Dublin High School in 1991. After graduating, she moved away to Austin for a few years, then returned to Dublin. She had four children, and spent time as a stay-at-home mom raising them.
In 2000 she earned her cosmetology license at Stephenville Cosmetology School. “My late grandmother was a retired cosmetologist, I have an aunt and cousin who are cosmetologists, and I have a great aunt who also founded one of the first cosmetology schools, so it was just kind of in my blood,” she said.
She worked at two different salons in Stephenville, but balancing her work with her children proved difficult, so she left the profession.
In 2013 she started working as a paraprofessional with special needs students at Hico Elementary. “I’m a really spiritual person, and I just felt God pulling me to get into the education field,” she said. “I fell in love with the kids, and I wanted to further that career.”
In 2016, Taylor went back to school at Weatherford College to earn her associates of arts, and is now earning her bachelor’s degree online at Western Governors University. Upon enrolling in college full-time, Taylor began substitute teaching at Lipan ISD. Last year she accepted a position to be a paraprofessional in the Life Skills classroom working with special needs children. “I figured that was a godsend, because people just don’t ask you to do things like that on a whim,” she said.
Today Taylor still works in the life skills program at Lipan Elementary. “We teach the students basic skills they need for when they get old enough to hopefully be on their own,” she said. “We teach them how to do laundry, how to sweep, how to mop, just day-to-day tasks. There are all sorts of sensory issues and triggers to overcome and they need the skills to overcome those.”
Taylor plans to stay in Lipan for the time being, since her youngest son is currently in school there. Once he graduates, “I’ll go wherever God sees a need for me,” she said. “I intend to let Him guide me for the rest of my life.”
When she’s not working, she enjoys photography, volunteering at her church and spending time around her family. She and her husband Dennis live in Lipan with her youngest son Rhett, 15. Her three older children have already left home. Clayton, 28, is in the Navy, Logan, 24, is a disabled Army veteran, and Kloe, 18, is attending Tarleton. She also has two grandsons.
Taylor’s mother, Deborah Cox Oden, still lives in Dublin, and her father, Carl Woolsey, passed away in 2020.
Taylor’s late grandmothers Alma “Nanny” Woolsey and Christene “MeMaw” Northcutt were both inspirational to Taylor and her family throughout her life. “Growing up, they were our rocks,” she said. “They taught us the Godly way to be, and they told us nobody’s perfect and accepted us for who we were.”
Over the course of her life and career, Taylor has sometimes struggled with overcoming anxiety — both her own and her children’s. From going back to school later in life, to having two sons join the military at the same time, she had to learn to rely on her faith to get her through. “Having God walk me through every day is huge,” she said. “Matthew 6:33 says Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven. You have to put God first.”
Taylor’s advice to Dublin graduates is to choose to maintain relationships with friends from high school. “They can be staples in your life for the rest of your life,” she said. “All you have to do is send a text and say ‘Hey.’”
She also advises graduates to be kind. “Always choose kindness, always,” she said. “It doesn’t matter if someone was hateful, just choose kindness.”
Editor’s Note: This column chronicles what Dublin graduates have done since high school. If you have any suggestions for other grads, email publisher@dublincitizen.com.