Reba Sellers Turner

Mrs. Reba Sellers Turner, 88, of Columbus, passed away peacefully at her home surrounded by family and friends on Friday, July 1, 2011. Funeral services will be held at St. Paul United Methodist Church on Wildwood Avenue, on Tuesday, July 5, 2011, 11 a.m. with Reverend (Dr.) Buddy Cooper officiating. Interment will follow at Parkhill Cemetery. The family will receive visitors in the fellowship hall of St. Paul from 10:00 a.m. till 11:00 a.m. prior to the service on Tuesday, July 5, 2011.

Mrs. Turner was born November 5th, 1922, in Cuthbert, Georgia. She was the only child of Joe Cue Sellers and Rebecca Sealy Sellers. The family relocated to Atlanta, Georgia, when Mr. Sellers secured a position as jeweler for Claude S. Bennet on Peachtree Street. She attended 10th Street School and then Girl’s High in Atlanta, graduating in 1940. She then attended the Normal School in Athens, Georgia. In June 1943, she married Dr. Haywood Turner, Lieutenant, U. S. Navy. After the war the couple resided in Atlanta until 1949, at which time they moved to Columbus where Dr. Turner established his medical practice.

Mrs. Turner was an active member in the Columbus community for her entire life. She participated in all possible school activities while her children were in the school system. She was an active member of the Junior League of Columbus and of the Medical Auxiliary. Through the Junior League, as an active member and later as a sustainer, she contributed many hours and much enthusiasm as a docent at the Columbus Museum. She was an avid collector of fossil sharks’ teeth, and studied much about the behavior and habitat of quails and hummingbirds. In her younger years she was an avid flower gardener, cook and seamstress. Her children can attest to the life enrichment and learning they received from growing up and being nurtured by this extraordinary lady.

She was preceded in death by her husband, the late Dr. Haywood Turner, II, and her older son, Judge Haywood Turner, III. Surviving children include Rebecca Turner Fuller of Athens, Georgia, Wesley Turner and his wife Leslie of Columbus, Nancy Turner of Columbus; seven grandchildren, Liz Turner Cox of Macon, Georgia, Allison, David and Emily Turner of Columbus, Maj. Benjamin Midgette of Vass, North Carolina, and William and Kelly Fuller of Athens, Georgia. She also leaves behind many loving friends and relatives, including her beloved caregivers, Janet Buck and Katie Giddens.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be sent to Columbus Hospice at www.columbushospice.com. Condolences may be offered at www.shcolumbus.com.