Dawn Marie Hilton Taylor, 78, of Spokane Valley, passed away Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, at Deaconess Hospital in Spokane following complications from hemorrhagic shock due to gastrointestinal bleeding.
Dawn was born Sept. 4, 1946, in Klamath Falls, Ore., to Paul Donald Hilton and Marion Marie Mills Hilton. She graduated from Klamath Union High School, where she was an active member of the synchronized swim team. Dawn went on to attend Oregon Tech Institute (OTI), where she pursued a degree in medical technology. It was during her college years that she met Garry Taylor of Nezperce, who was teaching in Lakeview, Ore. The two became engaged in May 1966 and were married on June 18, 1966.
Together, Dawn and Garry had three sons: Eric (Rhonda) of Boise, Roderick (Denise), and Shawn (Jennifer) of Coeur d’Alene. The family moved to Clarkston in 1970, where Dawn began working at Potlatch Corporation in 1978. She worked for nearly 28 years in the mill, donning steel-toed boots, a dust mask, leather gloves, a hard hat, and safety glasses while operating a forklift and loading 50-pound rolls of tissue paper onto pallets. Though she often said, “I hate my job working three shifts,” she also confessed, “but I love the smell of money.”
Beyond her work at the mill, Dawn had a passion for making beautiful wedding and birthday cakes and creating stained-glass art. Her creativity and artistry were evident in all that she made, and she was known for her loving care in the things she crafted.
Dawn is survived by her husband, Garry, her three sons and their wives: Eric (Rhonda), Roderick (Denise) and Shawn (Jennifer); along with nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, Paul and Marion Hilton, and her sister.
A celebration of Dawn’s life will be held at The Max in Spokane, following a private burial at the Washington State Veterans Cemetery in Medical Lake, Wash., in May, where she will be interred at the columbarium wall.
