Sarah Turner

Sarah Louise Turner COLUMBIA - Was a devoted student and teacher her entire life, as well as a beloved friend, sister, and aunt. The daughter of Henry Selkirk Turner and Louise Fendrich Turner, she grew up on the banks of the St. John's River in Jacksonville, Florida. Sarah attended Wheaton College in Illinois, where she earned a B.A. and M.A. She furthered her education at Boston University, where she studied philosophy before earning a Masters Degree in Nursing at Yale. She worked as a nurse at the Yale Psychiatric Institute and then for the Visiting Nurse Association before she began her teaching career in psychiatric nursing at Western Reserve University in Cleveland. She returned to work at the VNA, then received another master's degree in mental health at Yale. Next she worked at Columbia University as a research assistant in the Department of Psychology, before returning to teaching psychiatric and mental health nursing at the American University in Beirut. She loved her time in Lebanon, but returned to Columbia University when the Six-Day War broke out, working at the psychiatric research station in Poughkeepsie and teaching public health epidemiology to nursing students in NYC. Sarah moved to the Washington DC area where she worked as a public health advisor and was part of a grant review group for the National Institute of Mental Health. Always eager to learn she laughingly called herself a "recidivist" she returned to school, achieving a doctorate in epidemiology at UNC. In Raleigh, she also worked for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, studying the nascent field of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Upon graduation, Dr. Turner joined the nursing faculty at the University of Wisconsin. While living in Madison, WI, she taught graduate and undergraduate nursing students, and researched and authored articles about the needs of mental patients. In 1983, Dr. Turner moved to Columbia and joined the USC School of Nursing as an associate professor. In 1988, Sarah went to Lander University in Greenwood to help establish their undergraduate nursing program. She returned to Columbia in 1992 as a Visiting Professor at USC in nursing and public health. As she entered retirement, Sarah became more involved in gardening and she was an active participant in church activities, including choir. In 1998, Sarah moved to Laurel Crest, a retirement community in West Columbia. Throughout her life, Sarah was passionate about travel, and one of her favorite memories was a trip to China with her sister-in-law Pat Magee Turner. On Monday, August 28, 2017, at the age of 89, Sarah passed away peacefully after a lengthy decline in health. Her friends and family fondly remember her best years, her gentle sense of humor, and her passion for learning. Godspeed on your next travels, dear Sarah. A memorial reception will be held 11 o'clock, Tuesday, September 5th at Laurel Crest Retirement Community, 100 Joseph Walker Drive, West Columbia, SC. Shives Funeral Home, Trenholm Road Chapel, is assisting the family. Memories and condolences may be shared at ShivesFuneralHome.com.