People of NKY: Tahli Mays happened onto a garden tour and decided to stay in Old Seminary Square

By Ginger Dawson
NKyTribune reporter

You never know when a little curiosity will change the direction of your life.

In 2015, Tahli Mays, and her husband Don, decided to check out a garden tour being put on by the Old Seminary Square and Westside neighborhoods in Covington.

At the time, she and Don had been living in Ft. Thomas. They had been there for about twenty years and had raised their family. Ft. Thomas is a lush, largely homogenous upper middle class city with good schools. It had been great for them at that point in their lives.

However, Tahli had been yearning for a different living experience. She had wanted more diversity in her day to day living experience—something that matched what she saw when she and Don attended their church.

They had been attending People’s Church, a non-denominational church in Cincinnati for several years. This congregation has the distinction of including thirty different nationalities; people of every ethnic, cultural and socioeconomic group represented.  Heaven, in Tahli’s view, looks like this—every people in attendance.  

Every day should be that, not just on Sundays.

The Covington garden tour opened a door. It revealed a place that had the mix and diversity that they were looking for. They were completely surprised by what they discovered.

This was it!

People of many backgrounds and descriptions were all jammed up against each other, getting along and working at trying to improve.  

And, there was a beautiful old historic home on the market right in the middle of everything. They bought it, moved in, and quickly became involved in all of the neighborhood’s social life, organizations and projects.

Faith and life became more intertwined.

Tahli came to her faith in a very natural, organic way. She was not raised in a church-going family, but a family that showed by action that goodness was in people and that actions were what counted.

Life comes at you fast sometimes, and Tahli became a teenage bride and mother. This was not an easy development.  

But, unlike some experiences others have had, her family supported her and helped her with the situation any way that they could.  

In addition, they encouraged her to continue to pursue her education. She graduated high school and continued on to receive a degree in pharmacy technology from Raymond Walters College in Blue Ash, Ohio.

She credits her mother and grandmother for being great role models. She learned about goodness in people at a young age and the importance of sharing blessings. This was faith.

The early marriage did not last. They were very young.

Tahli went on to work as a pharmacy technician at Thriftway Pharmacy in Norwood.  

Not too long after, around 1980, this guy at work, who was a pharmacy student (she would see him in passing shifts), asked her out for a lunch date. That seemed to go alright.

Then, he asked her out again, for dinner. She didn’t know this guy!  

Tahli arranged to have her sister and a friend meet them at the restaurant. 

In spite of a few awkward moments involving the unexpected dinner guests and a party attended after dinner, the date succeeded.

The “drug store romance” endured and Tahli and Don married in 1983.

Tahli and Don have three grown children: daughter Kehra, and sons, Tyler and Ethan.  

Ethan, the youngest, went off to college to study industrial design at the University of Cincinnati’s School of Design, Art, Architecture and Planning (DAAP). He was specifically interested in gym shoe design and this seemed like the logical choice for his education.

It was not a perfect fit, as Ethan had not had an art background and wasn’t prepared for the challenge of the courses that were based on that foundation. It was a very intimidating and confusing development for him. He had never had any problems with school before.

Going off to college can be a very difficult thing for some people. Living arrangements, new challenges with an unbelievable crush of importance (your career!) and learning to take care of yourself can be a perfect storm.

It was so for Ethan. He changed. His parents could tell that something was not right. He was struggling with issues that seemed to be very important to him, but were things that Don and Tahli could not understand. There was a disconnect. He was not the Ethan that they had known.

Slowly, after a great deal of research accompanied by much anguish and fear, Ethan’s condition became understood. Different doctors and programs were tried, with varying degrees of success. It seemed a chimera.  

Don and Tahli wouldn’t be discouraged and continued to look for solutions to help Ethan.  

They discovered NAMI Southwest Ohio. NAMI, National Alliance of Mental Illness is the largest grassroots organization in the United States that advocates for education, support and public awareness of mental illness.

Through this organization, they discovered information and resources that ultimately linked Ethan with a program that has worked. He is in a very good place. He is back in college full-time and has a part-time job. 

Tahli’s faith came through for her on this difficult journey and she believes that the right people who could help them were put in their path.

Because Tahli is so appreciative of the people and help that Ethan, Don and she have received from NAMI Southwest Ohio, she volunteers for the organization. She and Don participate in events and fundraisers, and Tahli answers phones on the call-line once a week at the local office located in Sharonville.  

Tahli feels that she and Don have been very fortunate in their lives and a favorite verse from the Bible is Luke 12:48 — “To whom much is given, much is required.” Naturally, this means paying it forward.

When Don and Tahli moved to the big house in Old Seminary Square, they didn’t have quite enough furniture for it. The house is huge!

So, Tahli hit yard sales, antique malls and thrift stores in an effort to fill it up.  

At one yard sale, when she was considering a table to purchase, a cat there started working on Tahli with its most ingratiating moves — circling her legs, etc. . . you know how they can be.

This cat, which later turned out to have a fancy pedigree (a Japanese Bobtail!) had just shown up at the yard sale and the homeowner offered her to Tahli.

Tahli and Don had just lost their cat the previous year. I think the cat knew that. Cats know things. Particularly if it affects where their next meal might be coming from.

This is not divine providence. Well, maybe from the cat’s perspective it is.

In any case, Tahli made a decision and said, “If I buy this table, will you throw in the cat?”

And just like that, Smokey won the kitty lottery and has resided in Old Seminary Square ever since.

Tahli and Don are very happy that they decided to go on that garden tour.  

Smokey, however, might think that SHE is the real winner. I’ve seen her. She certainly acts like it!

Tahli would like to share contact information for the National Alliance on Mental Illness for anyone out there who is looking for help:

NAMI National Alliance on Mental Illness

Ginger Dawson writes about the People of NKY — the neighbors you need to know and people you need to meet and understand. The feature appears periodically at the NKyTribune. If you have ideas for subjects please share them with Ginger at ginger@fuse.net.