Sammie Ruth Hazell was born to Samuel Curtis Hazell and Juna Valentine Watson on January 1, 1929. Raised in the Houston Heights she attended John H. Reagan High School where she performed with The Redcoats, the school drill team. She met and married Harold Herbert Hajovsky in 1948 and had three children.

In 1967 she married Wendel Earl Taylor and had two additional children. She remained married to Wendel for over 44 years. She was preceded in death by her youngest son, O.K. Taylor II.