Juanita "Micke" Maxine Turner

She was born in Gainesville, Texas on August 26, 1933 to Elmer Tilton Barnes and Lillian Carrie Luter. She had three siblings: Wanda Leona, Elmer Ray and Charles Lee. She married her childhood sweetheart, Max Ray Turner, at the age of 17 and together they raised three children: Kyle Ray, Resa Lynn, and Tommy Kirk in Grand Prairie, Texas. She was a grandmother to nine and great grandmother to eleven children. Micke lost her husband and worldwide travel partner, Max, to cancer in 1999 and never remarried. She survived the devastating loss of Tommy, her youngest son, in 2001.

Max and Micke alongside their three children and spouses, were pioneers in the health club industry during the 1970’s and 80’s. The Turner family designed, built, owned and operated six state-of-the-art health club facilities across the Dallas/ Fort Worth metroplex under the name Fitness Unlimited for over two decades. The family continues to hold this special time very near to their hearts.

A beacon of leadership in the city of Grand Prairie, Micke served as President of both the Grand Prairie Women’s Club and Nottingham Neighbors. For over three decades she devoted countless hours to charity work associated with both organizations. Loved and appreciated by her peers, in 1986 she received the “Woman of the Year” Award and in 2017 was publicly celebrated as a founding leader of the Nottingham Neighbors Club. An incredibly gifted artist, Micke studied art at Central State College in Edmond, OK. She created and donated artwork to the American Heart Association and her signature drawings were featured across multiple volumes of cookbooks for Nottingham Neighbors. Building a legacy of charity work and a strong sense of community within these organizations was deeply important to Micke.

Known by those closest to her as “Mums”, her grandchildren will never forget the countless sleepovers and afternoons spent in her spectacular backyard which resembled a page out of a fairytale. Mums’ ultimate passion and gift in life was caring for and building a home for her family. She devoted her entire life to making everyone around her feel important and loved.

Micke is survived by her son Kyle Turner and his wife, Vernetta, her daughter Resa McCreary and her husband, Chip, her twenty grand and great grandchildren, and her cherished English Bulldog, Dorie. We will never stop missing her.