Jean Phyllis Turner, 94, of South Bristol, passed on the afternoon of March 8. Born on July 9, 1923 in Methuen, Mass. to Maude and C. Roy Perry, she was the youngest of two children.
Jean studied English and acting at Emerson College in Boston, and she went on to teach and inspire hundreds of students in her 40-plus years of teaching English. She didn’t stop inspiring young minds even after she retired, as she continued to substitute and volunteer in both her local and old school systems of South Bristol and Brunswick. She was never at a loss to recount stories of her students with great fondness.
She married Ralph William “Bill” Turner Jr. on June 29, 1947, and they lived together in Methuen, Mass., Millinocket, Nashua, N.H., and Brunswick, before moving full time to South Bristol in 1992. She and Bill loved being on the water, and on any given weekend or vacation you could expect to find them out on the boat, exploring the coast of Maine.
Jean was an excellent cook who made her own strawberry jam every summer, and set the table with her best linens, china, and silver just for Sunday dinner. She never had a bad word to say about anybody, and she valued peace and getting along with other people over her own needs and desires. She was very active in all the churches she attended, serving on multiple committees and singing in the choir. She adored children, but especially babies, and she couldn’t help but go out of her way to say hello to babies whenever she saw them in public. She lived a full and happy life, and she will be missed by everyone who knew her.
Jean was blessed with, and is survived by, her children: son, Robert Turner and wife Christy of Omaha, Neb.; and daughter, Cynthia Lindsley of Brunswick; grandchildren, Benjamin Foreman Turner and wife Lesley of Omaha, Neb., Rebekah Jean Lindsley and husband Zachary D. Wriston of Pasadena, Md., and Kelly Lynn Turner of New York, N.Y.; great-granddaughters, Emerson Anne Turner and Mackenzie Larson Turner, of Omaha, Neb.
The love of her life and her best friend, Ralph William “Bill” Turner Jr., was called home in 2016; they had been married 68 years at the time.
A memorial service will be held early this summer at the Union Congregational Church in South Bristol, where Jean was a long-time member.
As she valued education and learning very highly, memorials in Jean’s memory may be made to any educational program or school of the donor’s choice.
Condolences, and messages for her family, may be expressed by visiting www.StrongHancock.com.
Arrangements are under the direction and care of the Strong-Hancock Funeral Home, 612 Main St., Damariscotta.
