Resident: San Marco October 2019

BUSIN ESS P ROFIL E

Former general manager returns to Hardage-Giddens Ginny Taylor brings experience and a familiar face Hardage-Giddens Oaklawn Chapel & Oaklawn Cemetery has added a new but familiar face to its growing family of staff members. Former general manager Ginny Taylor has been brought on as general manager again, one of several changes that have taken place at the San Jose Boulevard establishment in recent years. Taylor was president of Oaklawn Cemetery and Funeral Home when in 2010, the Taylor family sold it to Hardage-Giddens. The cemetery has been a landmark in San Marco/ San Jose for more than 90 years and was owned by the Taylor family from 1955 to 2010 before becoming Hardage-Giddens Oaklawn Chapel & Oaklawn Cemetery. The change in ownership brought in additional

Ginny Taylor

staff and added many improvements. Taylor continued as general manager until 2013, when she left to spend time with her family. “With the construction of our new Legacy Lodge and our new San Marco Hedge Estates, we are really excited to have Ginny back,” said Marketing Director, Matt Tucci. “This is the perfect time for her to come back and oversee families that are both old and new to Oaklawn that have more options than they did previously.” Taylor said she is thrilled to come back after what she jokingly referred to as a “sixyear vacation. “The best thing about being back is the staff and the families we serve,” Taylor said. “I look forward to seeing them every morning.” As general manager, Taylor said she is following in the footsteps of Tom Harris, who had been general manager for the past three years. “We are fortunate to have Tom still a part of our team as he serves as family services manager as well as being a licensed funeral director,” she said. “Tom’s involvement in the community combined with his love for Oaklawn makes him the perfect choice for his new role.” At the time that Oaklawn was sold, the Taylor family had just completed the current chapel after tearing down the previous, smaller building. Ginny Taylor worked with Bill Jaycox, Julie Catlin and eventually, The Angelo Group to design it, selecting everything by hand from the tiles and the fixtures to the millwork and the gorgeous boxed-beamed ceilings.

Featuring Alexa Hampton for Theodore Alexander

The team at Hardage-Giddens Oaklawn Chapel & Oaklawn Cemetery

Afterward, Oaklawn added more acreage from the acquisition of the Shad property, now known as the Legacy Lodge. “So many families are getting away from the traditional service and are having celebrations of life to honor their loved ones,” she said. “The building can accommodate almost any type of service a family chooses. We also offer catering and a full-service staff.” Oaklawn employs about 26 people, many of whom come from different fields. “I like to say this is a career that you cannot fully appreciate unless you have experienced a loss. Our family has suffered several losses since 2010, and it is through those losses that I have a deeper understanding of love, loss and the fragile nature of life,” she said. Besides the staff, there’s also another reason Taylor is back: The search for a more fulfilling life. “My husband and I have traveled, remodeled an older San Marco home, seen our daughter through college and a law school graduation this coming May,” she said. “You find yourself saying, there’s got to be more purpose for me.”

Hardage-Giddens President Jody Brandenburg said he has known Taylor for 30 years. “We’ve been friends for so long, only recently colleagues and teammates,” he said, adding she brings a high degree of professionalism to Oaklawn. Former Gov. Charlie Crist appointed Taylor to the Board of Funeral, Cemetery and Consumer Service, the state regulatory board that regulates and licenses the profession, Brandenburg said. “We served together until 2010. Ginny Taylor brings a quality to our profession in Jacksonville that is of the highest ethical and customer service standards,” he said. “She lives our core values of respect, integrity, service, excellence and enduring relationships.” He also said she was well-known in the community. “Customers and staff appreciate and welcome her return,” he said. For her part, Taylor wants to keep Oaklawn’s standards high. “My goal is to keep everything running smoothly, make sure the staff are fully supported, and to serve the families with compassion and integrity,” she said.

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