Sarah Virginia Turner passed away on May 24, 2024, in Knoxville Tennessee. Born to Byrtle and Mary Smith on July 18, 1935, in Anderson, Alabama, Sarah was the youngest of five children which included Robert (Dean) Smith, Jay (Faye) Smith, Sadie (David) Malone, and Louise (Harold) Robinson. Sarah was a 1953 graduate of Minor Hill High School and a member of the basketball team. She enlisted in the Air Force in 1953 and was honorably discharged in 1956 at the rank of Staff Sergeant. While in the Air Force she met her husband Robert Leroy Turner who was a serving Technical Sergeant. They were married in Newburgh, New York in 1956 and relocated to Rochester, New York. She was happily married for sixty-seven years before Robert’s passing in 2023. Working as a bookkeeper for many years she and Robert raised two boys, Michael Robert Turner, and Kenneth Scott Turner. Her passion for sports carried on throughout her entire life. She attended all her sons’ sporting activities, including daily parking lot pickups from practice, and was the leader of all their sports booster clubs. Always a planner and a goal- setter, she had an undoubting influence on her boys, who always felt her love and support.
In 1988 Sarah and her husband retired and moved south to Scottsboro, Alabama. They enjoyed many happy years traveling, boating, and watching the sunrises and sunsets at Jackson County Park. She was a long-time participant in the Rec*Com Water Aerobics Program and Red Hat Society for Women. She was also an avid bridge player. After the passing of her husband, Robert, in 2023, she moved to Morning Pointe of Hardin Valley Assisted Living in Knoxville, Tennessee. She enjoyed her short time there socializing, watching Tennessee Volunteer sports, Atlanta Braves baseball, and becoming a ringer on the cornhole baseball team. She was a beacon of light to all she touched and there wasn’t a person that she couldn’t befriend.
Sarah is survived by her two sons, Kenneth of Knoxville, Tennessee, and Mike (daughter-in-law Lynn, grandchildren Andrew and Ryan) of Carpinteria, California, sibling Sadie Malone of Pulaski, Tennessee, numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins, and everyone who was better for her presence. She is predeceased by her husband, Robert L., parents, and siblings, Robert, Jay, and Louise.
In lieu of flowers, Sarah asked those who can instead donate to her requested charity, the Wild Bird Sanctuary – Florida Keys Wild Bird Center in Tavernier, Florida.
Memorial services will be held on Friday, July 19, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. at the Scottsboro Funeral Home. The family will receive friends prior to the memorial service on Friday beginning at 4:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. at the funeral home.
Arrangements Entrusted to Scottsboro Funeral Home
