Evalyne "Mac" Turgeon

Evalyne "Mac" Turgeon June 29, 1920- February 22, 2008 COLUMBUS, GA—Evalyne "Mac" Turgeon, who devoted her life to community service in Columbus, peacefully died in her sleep on February 22, 2008 at The Heritage of Raleigh in NC. She was surrounded by family and loved ones at her death. She was 87. Mac was born Evalyne Mae McDine on June 29, 1920 in Pittsburgh, PA to Emma, a seamstress, and Francis McDine, a coal miner. One of five children and surrounded by musicians, she would carry a love for music her entire life. At the age of18 she enlisted in The Women's Army Corp, where she served her country in London and Paris during World War II. In 1944, at The American Cathedral in Paris, she married 1st Lt. Roy W. Turgeon of Clayton, NY. Following the War, they were stationed at Camp Drake in Yokohama, Japan before moving to Columbus in 1954. Roy retired from the Army and worked as executive director of the Boys Clubs of Columbus and Phenix City. He also served as a Columbus city councilman. For more than 30 years, Mac worked for the Columbus Recreation Department; she started as the playground director at Benning Hills School and was later named the assistant superintendent of playgrounds. Mac was a strong supporter of the recreation program at Columbus College, helping the department design its core curriculum and giving its graduates the opportunity to begin careers with The Columbus Recreation Department. She was a tireless volunteer for the Republican Party and Muscogee County Board of Elections, serving as a district voting supervisor and poll watcher. She was also an original member of the "Scrub Women", a barnstorming fast pitch woman's softball team that featured Alice Hyatt and Mary Jane Underwood and was managed by Sam Prophet. She was a member of Trinity Episcopal Church and served as its recording secretary for more then 20 years. She also found time to volunteer as the social director of the condominium community at Hidden Lake where she lived. Mac completed her life of community service at St. Francis Hospital, where she happily gave more than 6,000 volunteer hours as a pink lady. She was preceded in death by her mother, Emma Clifford McDine; her father, Francis McDine; her loving husband of 54 years, Maj. (Ret.) Roy Turgeon; and her son Lt. Col (Ret) Roy W. Turgeon, Jr. Her aunt, Hazel McNutt, and her uncle, Alfa McNutt, also preceded her in death. She is survived by her son, TJ Turgeon (Maria Turgeon) and granddaughter Isabelle Wilder Turgeon of New York, New York; daughter-in-law Marilyn Hale Turgeon; granddaughters Kate Turgeon Watson (Brandon Watson), Emily Maureen Turgeon and Natalie Elizabeth Turgeon; and great granddaughters Sara-Hale Evalyne Watson and Caroline Wilder Watson, all of Raleigh, North Carolina. The family will welcome friends Monday from 6-8 at Striffler-Hamby Mortuary on Macon Road. A funeral service will be held Tuesday at 1 pm at Trinity Episcopal Church on First Avenue, with burial to follow at the Ft. Benning Main Post Cemetery. Donations in memory of Mac Turgeon may be made to the St. Francis Foundation, 2300 Manchester Expressway # F-3 Columbus GA. 31904.