Joe Ann (Taylor) Van Gelder

Joe Ann (Taylor) Van Gelder, [91], died peacefully on August 30, 2022 at the Atkinson Residence in Newbury, Vermont surrounded by love and kindness. She was born on October 20, 1930. A memorial service and interment will be held in Tallahassee, Florida at later date. For information on internment plans as they are finalized please e-mail dmdvt@live.com.

She was born in Tampa, Florida, but lived over 50 years in Tallahassee. She was the daughter of Joseph J. and Frances (Hawley) Taylor. She attended Florida State University, Ohio State University, and the University of Guatemala. She graduated from Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, with a B.B.A. degree and from Stetson University College of Law, St. Petersburg, FL, with an LL.B./J.D. degree. She was a devotee of Sathya Sai Baba and had visited his ashrams in India. She was a graduate of the Unity School of Religious Studies, Teachers Division, Lees Summit, MO. A wordsmith all her life, before retiring as a lawyer she authored a dozen municipal codes and charters for various cities in Georgia, several books for The Florida Bar, and worked for almost two decades as a Research Attorney for both the District Court of Appeal, First District, and the Supreme Court of Florida.

She was active in the American Society of Dowsers where she served as National Chapter Secretary, National Trustee-Treasurer, twice Chairman of the Water for Humanity Fund Committee, a long-time member of the Convention Committee as well as the Trustee Advisory Board. She was a long-time lecturer on dowsing in both the United States and Canada. As a dowser inspired by experiences in the sacred sites of Great Britain, she authored many books on the dowsing of energies and on labyrinths, co-authored a Teachers’ Resource Manual and was a contributor to various magazines on these same topics. She founded Vermont Vibrations, an organization that certified qualified individuals for the teaching of these subjects. She was twice State Chairman of the Florida convention of Edgar Cayce’s Association for Research and Enlightenment. She was listed in the Who’s Who of American Women.

She was predeceased by her husband, William Rutgers Van Gelder but is survived by her son, William Cowan Val Bostwick Jr., Atlantic Beach, FL, as well as her nephews and niece of Vermont and New York, and their families, plus her Godchildren of Florida and New Jersey, and her extended family, the Aldriches of Derby, Vermont. Should friends desire, contributions in her memory may be made to the Water For Humanity Fund, A.S.D., P. O. Box 24, Danville, Vermont 05828. 

Should friends desire, contributions in her memory may be made to The Francis Atkinson Residence for the Retired, 4717 Main Street S, Newbury, VT 05051, or Guiding Eyes for the Blind 611 Granite Springs Road, Yorktown Heights, NY 10598.

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