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March 19, 1910 – March 28, 2012

Rosemary Turner, who immigrated to Canada from the United States at the age of 97, died on March 28th at The Gardens at Qualicum Beach. She had celebrated her 100th birthday in March 2010. Her consuming interest in reading and puzzles kept her mind as sharp as ever at 102 years old.

She was born in rural Culver, Indiana March 19, 1910, the third of four daughters of a country doctor who made house calls with a horse and buggy and often took payment in kind. The family moved in 1920 to urban South Bend, Indiana, where she attended high school.

She graduated from Hiram College in Ohio in 1935.

In 1936 she married Ralph Turner and, giving up her early interest in becoming an architect, devoted herself to her family. They lived first in Cleveland until the birth of Kathryn in 1939, then in Bridgeport, CT where Paula was born in 1943.

The family moved to Zanesville, Ohio in 1948. A cancer survivor, Rosemary volunteered for many years at the local hospital, and worked for the dean of the Zanesville campus of Ohio University.

In 1996 she moved to Staunton, Virginia to be near her daughter Paula and son-in-law Peter deVaux, where she resided for 11 years before accompanying them to British Columbia in 2007.

After arriving in Qualicum Beach she resided at The Gardens retirement community, living independently until after her 100th birthday. She had a great sense of humour and never took herself too seriously. A genuinely friendly person, she was universally liked wherever she was, and her new home in Canada was no exception.

She was preceded in death by her husband Ralph Turner, and two sisters Kathryn Parker and Josephine Parker Moss.

She is survived by her sister Jane Parker Smith of Trumbull, CT; older daughter Kathryn Auld, granddaughter Karen Elizabeth Hatzakis, and great-granddaughter Athena Monika Hatzakis, all of Manhattan Beach, CA; grandson James Ralph Auld of Pacoima, CA; and younger daughter Paula deVaux and son-in-law Peter Fordney deVaux of Qualicum Beach, BC; and 10 nieces and nephews.

Condolences and memories of Rosemary may be offered at: http://rosemary102.wordpress.com/



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