West Virginia woman with stage 4 cancer fulfills Taco Bell bucket list

An 86-year-old West Virginia woman who long dreamed of seeing a Taco Bell open in her hometown recently got to cross the grand opening off her bucket list after wondering whether she would live long enough to see it happen.

The ‘Taco Bell Queen’, said she had hoped for years that the town, a suburb of Charleston, would get its own location. “I was always wanting a Taco Bell here in this little town of Sissonville,” Monk said. When her son told her the restaurant was finally coming, Monk mentioned she was thrilled. 

“My son…had been working trying to get one,” she said. “He [came] to me one day and he said, ‘Mom, I finally got them to come. They’re coming. They are going to be here for you.’”

But around the same time, Monk received devastating news. After coming down with a virus and visiting her doctor, she said medical tests revealed that she had stage 4 cancer. Monk said doctors told her she had a few months to live.

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“Out of nowhere, we found out that I had stage 4 cancer,” she said.

As construction continued on the Taco Bell, Monk remarked that she found herself wondering whether she would live to see the restaurant open. “As I went up and down the road in front of the Taco Bell, they were working, and I’m just trying to guess and figure out, is the Lord going to let me stay here long enough to be able to see that Taco Bell open?” she questioned. “They were supposed to be for me, and now I may have to leave this world before I get to see it open.”

Not much later, the Taco Bell’s construction was completed in her town. On opening day, Monk said she was brought in early to celebrate. Her son, who helped advocate for the restaurant, was expected to cut the ribbon, so he brought Pauline with him.

The moment quickly turned into something bigger than a restaurant opening. The Sissonville resident became a local legend and an internet sensation. 

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“They all hollered,” Monk mentioned of the people waiting outside. “They said, ‘She’s the Taco Bell queen.’ So now I’m known everywhere I go as the queen of Taco Bell.”

Pauline explains that the go-to Taco Bell order is a Nachos BellGrande or a chicken quesadilla, and enjoys cinnamon twists for dessert. Her family has leaned into her new title, too. Though the Taco Bell story has brought Monk unexpected and wonderful attention, she said there is more to her life than her love for the fast-food chain.

Monk said she grew up with 7 siblings in a local country town and has always tried to be giving. For years, she said, she baked pies for people in her church and community. “Since I’ve been a young girl, I’ve always attended church and been a Christian over the years,” Monk said. “I gave, and I was happy and joyous to give people pies and apple pies.”

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Now, she said, that kindness is being returned.

“Everybody at church, everybody I knew got pies,” she noted. “And now they’re giving it back. I’m getting food from everywhere.”

Monk mentioned she is being cared for by her loving husband and family. “I’ve got a good husband,” she said. “My husband has been so good to take care of me.”

She said her faith has helped her remain at peace as her cancer has progressed. “I know the Lord and the Lord knows me,” Monk insisted. “I feel like when he’s ready for me to come home, he’ll take me, and I’m ready to go.” Monk mentioned that doctors advised against chemotherapy because of her age. She said she later learned the cancer had spread to her lungs.

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“It’s just a matter of time,” she said. “But while I’m here, I want to spread the word of God and be thankful and help people whatever way I can.”

As her story continues to make people smile, Monk said she is grateful for the love she has received from her family, her community and strangers who have heard about the “Taco Bell queen.”