Local community leader Margie Taylor honors her late son by installing Gold Star Mother chapter in Texas

THE WOODLANDS, TX – Montgomery County icon and area businesswoman Margie Taylor recently took part in a special commemoration on a day that was bittersweet for her and her family.

Fifteen months ago on this day, Taylor – owner of Taylorized Public Relations – received word that her son, Specialist Joey Lenz of the United States Army, had died at his base of Fort Hood. The most terrible day that any mother could face only got worse as Taylor investigated the circumstances surrounding the death of her son, fighting bureaucracy and entrenched networks at every turn. While others might have been daunted by the backlash and walked away, Taylor’s tenacity has endured as she continues her fight for answers.

Taylor learned that she had joined a special club that no parent willingly joins: American Gold Star Mothers. This organization is set up as a support and networking group for mothers of children who have died while serving in the U.S. military. To Taylor’s surprise, however, there was not currently a Texas chapter of Gold Star Mothers. She set about changing that.

As a result of the actions of Taylor and others, this past weekend a special installation ceremony of officers for the Greater Southeastern Texas Chapter of American Gold Star Mothers for the Department of TX-OK Convention was hosted by Honor Cafe in Conroe. Taylor was sworn in as an officer at the luncheon event.

“I was honored to take the oath today in my son Joey Lenz’s honor to continue the oath he took, serving my country with purpose, passion, and a devoted mission to assist our military, veterans and other Gold Star Mothers,” said Taylor in her new capacity as a Gold Star Mother representing Texas at the National level as 2nd Vice President. “I officially belong to an organization I never had knowledge about until I lost my soldier boy and youngest son. This is the first Gold Star Mother Chapter in Texas after the reorganization this year, and I hope other Gold Star Mothers reach out to us as we need to support each other.”

The month of May is designated as Gold Star Awareness Month, a time to increase awareness of what it means to be a Gold Star family and pay tribute to those who gave their lives in service to our nation. As Taylor’s quest for answers – which have already taken her to the State Capitol and Washington, DC with no signs of stopping – she continues to shoulder the burden of being a mother who has lost a child, as well as steel her resolve to help others going though the same.

“Reach out to a Gold Star Mom; it’s going to be a tough month for us. We live with this every single day of our life,” she said. “Nothing will ever be the same after you lose your child while serving in the military.”