Liz Taylor (Cavasos) has retired following 40 years in the banking industry. Photo by Don Taylor
By CAROL A. CLARK
Los Alamos Daily Post
caclark@ladailypost.com
Longtime Los Alamos resident Liz Taylor (Cavasos) retired in May following 40 years in the banking industry.
She graduated from Los Alamos High School in 1977 and went to New Mexico State University where she received her Bachelor’s degree in elementary education.
“I met my husband, Gary Cavasos, at college and we moved back to Los Alamos in fall of 1981,” she said. “We got married in August 1982 and I got a job as a teller at the Los Alamos National Bank (LANB) White Rock branch two weeks later.”
Taylor went on to work at LANB for 31 years and retired in March 2013, after which she spent a year traveling and visiting her children. In February 2014, she accepted a position as a vice president at New Mexico Bank & Trust (NMB&T) doing commercial lending and retired on May 13, 2022.
“Banking has gone through so many changes since I first started,” Taylor said. “The rules and regulations have made it much harder to do everything. It was hard seeing what all those changes did to LANB, which was such a great community bank. The part I always loved about my job was being able to help people fulfill their dreams. Whether it was building their dream home, starting their own business, or purchasing a new property, it was very satisfying helping my customers. You get to know everyone in town after being here so long. I loved running into my customers at the grocery store, at the summer concerts, or at the ski hill.”
Taylor said that she also loved working with young adults to help them understand the importance of being responsible with their finances and keeping their credit in good standing. She worked for a short time with “CHOICES” in Santa Fe working with middle school children to help them understand the power of making positive decisions and how their decisions impact their future.
Among her many community volunteer endeavors through the years, Taylor served on the Executive Board of Big Brothers Big Sisters for the last eight years and prior to that was chair of the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Los Alamos for about seven years.
Taylor’s husband, Don Taylor, spoke about their finding each other after the loss of their spouses.
Her immediate supervisor at NMB&T, Commercial Banking Team Lead Trevor Lewis shared his thoughts about Taylor saying, “Liz was the definition of a great community banker in her hometown of Los Alamos. She helped many people fulfill their entrepreneurial dreams, and also supported the community through volunteerism and philanthropy. She was never scared of a challenge and was always one to help out whenever she could.”
NMB&T President and CEO Greg Leyendecker also spoke about Taylor.
“Liz was an integral part of our commercial banking team for more than 10 years,” Leyendecker said. “She successfully built strong partnerships with members of the Los Alamos and Santa Fe business communities and worked to help these businesses accomplish their goals. On behalf of our team at New Mexico Bank & Trust, we’d like to thank Liz for sharing her talents with us and enriching the lives of so many.”
Former LANB CEO Bill Enloe spoke about the time Taylor worked for him at LANB, which is now Enterprise Bank & Trust.
“Liz used to babysit for us when she was in high school,” Enloe recalled. “She went off to college and studied to become a teacher but when she came home she was unable to find a teaching position so I hired her at the bank. Liz was bright and insightful and had a very kind personality … she was hardworking and excelled in her career … people were drawn to her because of her great personality … I just can’t say enough good about Liz.”
Longtime colleague and friend Pamela Mayfield is the Senior Personal Banker at NMB&T in Los Alamos. She expressed good wishes to Taylor.
“I could not be happier for Liz on her retirement and just a little bit jealous of it,” Mayfield said. “Liz and I have worked together for 32 years, in fact Liz is the reason I got the opportunity to work with her again when she stated at New Mexico Bank & Trust. Best wishes on your retirement, you will always be a friend and confident.”
Taylor’s mother Connie Pacheco said, “Elizabeth is a caring loving daughter. We are very proud of all her accomplishments, determination and drive.”
Taylor’s sister Teresa Vazquez said, “Liz is a loving and considerate person who has a lot of integrity and compassion.
Taylor intends to remain in Los Alamos and said her retirement plans include traveling to visit family and working with her husband in his photography studio.