Mollie Gretchen Turner

Mollie Gretchen Turner, or Gretchen to her family and friends, was born on June 9th, 1939 at Muskogee, OK the daughter of Charlie and Mildred Eugenia (Curtis) McClure. She attended school at Alice Roberts school in Muskogee. She married Everett Ray Turner and together they raised four children, Bruce, Jeff, Denise, and Brenda. Gretchen was first and foremost a loving wife and a steadfast mother. She adored her children and watched their every accomplishment with a great deal of pride and admiration. She worked as a Dietary Assistant at the Tahlequah City Hospital. The most notable accomplishment was Gretchen’s cooking. If you ever enjoyed a slice of cheesecake at Jasper’s in Tahlequah, you were enjoying Gretchen’s creation. An Accomplished cook, her pies were featured at Keys bakery and you couldn’t improve on her chocolate and coconut crème pie. It didn’t matter what she made, it would be perfect. The meals she made for her family were just as wonderful and made with only the love Gretchen could display. With the birth of each new grandchild, Gretchen's love for her family grew. It was an unconditional love that showed as she welcomed each new addition. Her husband passed in 1996 and Gretchen filled the void with her children and grandchildren. Gretchen was a Christian by faith. The Lord saw her growing tired and took Gretchen to her Eternal Home on August 12th, 2013 in Tahlequah, OK. Gretchen was 74 years old. That warm smile, those wonderful meals and that loving hug will be greatly missed by her family and all her friends at Cherokee Elder Care.

Gretchen is preceded in death by her parents, her husband, and one brother, David.

Those left to cherish Gretch’s memory include her children, Bruce Turner and Tanya of Tahlequah, Jeff Turner and Susan of Peach Tree City, GA, Denise McClelland and husband Gary of Lucedale, MS, and Brenda Etzkorn and husband Danny of Tahlequah, OK. She leaves one brother and two sisters, Billy Ward of Terrell, TX, Rebecca Rains of Denison, TX, and Judy Swindle of Sherman, TX. Her legacy lives on in her 8 grandchildren, Jessica Bell, Julie Turner, Sabrina Garner, Jacob Etzkorn, Samantha Etzkorn, Chris McClelland, Beau McClelland, and Shawna McClelland, and two step grandchildren, Brittny Townsend and ReBecca Townsend. She has 11 great grandchildren, as well as many nieces, nephews, cousins and a host of friends and loved ones.