Ben Taye Stevenson Choice '59

Ben Taye Stevenson Choice peacefully passed away at home on November 8, 2023, surrounded by her beloved husband and family. Ben Taye courageously fought to overcome complications of a recent surgery to remove blood clots. She is a native Houstonian born on September 28, 1940, to Benjamin Franklin Stevenson and Mollie Taylor Stevenson. Mollie and “Big Ben,” also known as Steve, were highly accomplished parents, earning numerous distinguished honors. As a classical pianist at Fisk University (Alumni ’32) in Nashville, Tennessee, Mollie traveled abroad and accompanied the renowned Fisk Jubilee Singers on organ and piano.  George Washington Carver taught Benjamin agriculture at Tuskegee Institute (Class of 1930). A seven-time All-American football player at Tuskegee, Big Ben was inducted into the Tuskegee Hall of Fame in 1974.  The College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Georgia, also inducted him in 2003. The Black College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta inducted him into its Hall of Fame in 2011. Mollie and her daughter Mollie Jr., on November 9, 2001, became the first living African Americans inducted into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame in Fort Worth, Texas. 

 Ben Taye is the granddaughter of Major Julius Taylor, Houston, Texas, and Hester Baker Taylor, Littig, Texas, and Fred and Julia Douglas, Liberty, Missouri. Ben Taye’s great-grandparents were Edward Ruthven Taylor, son of a prominent White Houston merchant and slave broker, and Ann George Taylor, formerly enslaved. Ben Taye cherished her family and dedicated her life to preserving its rich heritage.

 Ben Taye attended Blackshear Elementary and Booker T. Washington. She graduated (1959) from Fryeburg Academy, a semi-private preparatory school in Fryeburg, Maine. Ben Taye studied early childhood education and accounting from 1959 to 1961 at Texas Southern University (TSU). While at TSU, Ben Taye met the love of her life, Lloyd Dwain Choice, a star football player and artist from Tyler, Texas.  Lloyd studied art under prominent artist John T. Biggers. Lloyd and Ben Taye married on December 23, 1961, and enjoyed sixty-one years of marriage.  From their union, three loving children were born: Lloyd Dwain Choice Jr. (deceased), Tracey Denise Choice, and Kellye Dawn Coleman (Daryl Wayne Coleman). They cherish two grandchildren, Donovan Lloyd Walter Coleman and Kelsey Denise Coleman.

 Ben Taye loved family, friends, and children. She enjoyed hosting large gatherings and preparing lavish family meals promptly served at 6:00 p.m. Ben Taye took pride in being a good wife and making Lloyd “KING of their castle.” She created a warm, inviting home for family and friends. Ben Taye’s world revolved around family, nurturing children, traveling, camping, sewing, competing in flower shows, and assisting her mother with day-to-day operations in Pierce Junction. Ben Taye was a nature lover and avid birder and belonged to the Houston Audubon Society. Ben Taye was a Bluebonnet Garden Club of Houston member for forty-three years. She held leadership positions of President, Historian, and Secretary and won many awards at local and state garden shows.  Ben Taye served as Secretary and Treasurer of Mollie Taylor Stevenson Sr. Heirs Management Inc. for eighteen years since its inception in 2005.

Ben Taye worked with her mother, Big Mollie, brother Major, and his wife, Beverly, for twenty-five years to manage the family’s land and oil and gas operations.  Ben Taye understood her life’s purpose early on. She had primary knowledge about her prominent Houston family, which passed from generation to generation.  Ben Taye, Lloyd, and their family lived next to her mother. Every morning, she walked across the yard for breakfast with Big Mollie, who shared a cigarette, coffee, and a wealth of knowledge about their mixed-race family history and land.

 Ben Taye Stevenson Choice is preceded in death by her parents, Benjamin and Mollie Taylor Stevenson, son Lloyd Dwain Choice Jr, brothers Major William Stevenson Sr. and Benjamin Franklin Stevenson Jr. Ben Taye is survived by her devoted husband, Lloyd Dwain Choice, and daughters Tracey Denise Choice, Kellye Dawn Coleman (Daryl Wayne Coleman), and grandchildren Kelsey Denise Coleman and Donovan Lloyd Walter Coleman. Ben Taye also leaves to cherish her memories, sisters Barbara Thompson Stevenson Marshall (Lawrence Marshall), Mollie Stevenson Scott (Elicious Scott) and Sandra Stevenson Rigsby, and sisters-in-law, Gerry Ann Choice, Linda Nosofar, Marva Wallace, Beverly Dorsey Stevenson, and a host of nieces, nephews, and lifelong friends who witnessed a life well lived.