Cecile Mears Turner

Cecile Mears Turner died Saturday, October 1, 2011 at her home, Kendall Grove, in Eastville, VA. A native and lifelong resident of the Eastern Shore, Mrs. Turner, 86, also lived part-time in Delray Beach, Florida and at Westminster-Canterbury in Virginia Beach, VA. Mrs. Turner was the daughter of Mannie Nottingham Mears and Benjamin William Mears, Sr. She went to Eastville public schools and was an alumna of Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, VA. She attended the University of Virginia Law School, where she met her husband, Claude Albert Turner, Jr. Married in 1947, the couple was together until Mr. Turner died in 2003. Mrs. Turner was an avid writer, beginning as editor of her college newspaper, and continuing with articles and pamphlets on Eastern Shore history, as well as an extensive personal correspondence. Mrs. Turner was particularly interested in history and old homes. She was a member of the Eastern Shore of Virginia Historical Society, past director of the Northampton Branch of Preservation Virginia (formerly the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities), and a member of The National Society of The Colonial Dames in the Commonwealth of Virginia. She helped with projects for Hollybrook, an historical home near Eastville, co-wrote a booklet about the 18th century buildings on the courthouse green in Eastville, and helped catalog collections at Ker Place. The restoration and preservation of Kendall Grove, the 18th century home where she lived for more than fifty years, was the abiding passion of her life. She enjoyed serving on the Alumnae Board of Mary Baldwin and a membership of more than fifty years in the Garden Club of Virginia. She was a member of Christ Church in Eastville. Her friendships were many, encompassing friends she kept from childhood and friends she made throughout her lifetime. She was always ready for a party or a get-together, whether her own or someone else's. Mrs. Turner was predeceased by her parents and her brother, Benjamin W. Mears, Jr. She is survived by three children, Claudia Turner Bagwell and her husband Bill, of Onancock, VA, Whitaker Holland Turner, of Eastville, and Claude Albert Turner III, and his wife Mina, of Eastville; five grandchildren, Anna Bagwell Burger, and her husband Ray, Isaiah William Bagwell V, Levin Henderson Turner, and his wife Mandi, Claude Albert Turner IV and John Elijah Turner, and two great-grandsons, Tristan Joshua Turner and Kiernan Milo Turner. A memorial service will be conducted at Christ Episcopal Church in Eastville on Saturday, October 8, 2011 at 11:00 AM with Reverend C. Berkley Ford officiating. Memorial donations may be made to the Eastern Shore of Virginia Historical Society, P.O. Box 179, Onancock, VA 23417 or to Broadwater Academy, P.O. Box 546, Exmore, VA 23350. Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.doughtyfuneralhome.com Arrangements made by Wilkins-Doughty Funeral Home, Cape Charles, Virginia.