Mary Louise Newman Turner

Mary Louise Newman Turner, a dedicated Army wife and mother of four, died Feb. 9, 2023. Her husband, Col. (Ret.) Edward B. Turner Jr., predeceased her by three years. They lived in Charleston.  

Mrs. Turner, who went by “Weezie,” was the daughter of the late George Wallace Newman and Lillian Lowe Newman. She was born in Columbia, S.C. on Jan. 2, 1930.  She attended Columbia city schools, Converse College, and the University of South Carolina where she was an active member of the Kappa Delta sorority. A true soprano, she studied voice and opera.

She married Edward (“Bo”) in 1950 and dedicated herself to her husband’s military career and children, moving from military installation to installation, from the east coast to Europe to the Midwest and Hawaii. She was a leader among women, organizing the wives of the 87th Maintenance Battalion during her years at Nellingen Barracks, Stuttgart, Germany, where her husband was battalion commander. She was a voracious bridge player and seamstress and dabbled in antique furniture restoration. She baked a mean pound cake for every birthday, without fail. On her own, she managed her household through her husband’s two tours in Vietnam (1959 and 1970). Following Bo’s retirement in 1979 (Atlanta), they relocated to Kiawah Island, SC, where she was active in community affairs along with her husband, the inaugural mayor of the newly incorporated town. Kiawah served as a gathering place for the extended family - for beach going, boating, biking, and bird watching together - and where many happy memories were made. She was an active member of the Episcopal Church of Our Saviour, on Johns Island, where she sang in the choir, participated in the EWC and was a member and director of the Altar Guild. On moving into Charleston in 1999, she became affiliated with Old Saint Andrew’s Parish church.  There she was a member of the St. Mary/St. Agnes Chapter of the EWC.  She joined the Bishop Gadsden community as a resident in 2006 and immersed herself in the choir and EWC.

Mrs. Turner is survived by three sons, Edward B. Turner III of Ft Payne, AL, James Timothy Turner of Anderson, SC, Wallace Newman Turner of Monticello, FL; and a daughter, Susan Turner-Lowe of Pasadena, CA; five grandchildren (JT Turner, Roger Turner, Bryan Turner, Lily Turner-Kipke and Kai “Dani” Turner-Kipke) and two great grandsons (Callen Turner and James Turner). 

A private graveside service will be held at Church of our Saviour, Johns’s Island, SC. Arrangements by J. Henry Stuhr, Inc. Downtown Chapel.

In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, 4550 Montgomery Ave, Suite 1100 N, Bethesda, MD, 20814.