Linda Carol Scarce-Turner

Linda Carol Scarce-Turner, 72, died on March 7, 2023 at home in Brookline, Massachusetts with loving family by her side, after a courageous 27-month battle with glioblastoma.

Linda was born in 1950 in Buenos Aires, Argentina where her father was stationed during a tour of duty with the United States Air Force. As a military brat, Linda loved experiencing many different countries and cultures as she grew up, including such exotic places as Morocco, Iran, Panama, and several states in the USA, finally completing her high school years at Richardson High School in the Dallas area. Her enthusiasm for travel and diverse cultures never dimmed throughout her life.

Linda began her educational and professional career in Texas, attaining a BS degree at Stephen F. Austin State University. After graduation she taught individuals with disabilities at the Lufkin State School, later moving to Austin to work on similar projects.

Linda's kind and compassionate style led to meeting her life partner, David Turner, in Austin. At a time when she was in between grant-related jobs she picked up extra cash by preparing resumes and graduate school applications, which led to her being referred to David, a penniless but charming graduate school applicant. Linda assiduously helped prepare David's convoluted PhD program applications. He had a checkered academic past and had only recently reformed his grades, but Linda mercifully and artfully presented David as the solid academic that he had, in fact, become, and his application was accepted at several excellent schools. She refused to take payment for this accomplishment, and the start of a beautiful partnership was begun. They were married later that year and would soon have a growing family in Austin, as David began graduate school, and Linda ran the Department of Rehabilitation at the Austin Goodwill.

While directing the Austin Goodwill's Rehabilitation Department, Linda gave birth to two sweet daughters, Hilary and Jennifer, and also managed to complete a Master's degree in Counseling and Rehabilitation at the University of Texas at Austin. She was a very busy woman!

When David was offered a job in New York City, Linda did not flinch at the prospect of moving, and excitedly supported the chance to experience life in the Northeast and the Big Apple. In the process of moving to the Northeast, Linda and David became life-long friends with fellow Texas ex-patriots, Rex and Joyce Davidson, practically raising their children together during a halcyon time in the sweet town of Maplewood, New Jersey. While in New Jersey, Linda and David had a third lovely daughter, Laura, who was a cheerful companion, along with her sisters, as Linda oversaw numerous renovation projects while restoring their crumbling Victorian home. Linda delighted in taking her daughters to the many museums and cultural events in nearby Manhattan, seeing as many Broadway and Off-Broadway plays as possible, and taking in the Metropolitan, the Guggenheim, the Museum of Natural History, the MoMA, and many others.

Around this time Linda also began making her mark professionally at world-class rehabilitation organizations in the area, including the Kessler Institute in New Jersey and her beloved Goodwill Industries of Greater New York, where she worked for 28 years.

By 1989, Linda and David had moved to Ridgefield, Connecticut with their three daughters, and Linda commuted daily to her office in Astoria, Queens to lead and grow the Rehabilitation Department of Goodwill. There, she rose to become Executive Vice President, overseeing annual budgets of over thirty million dollars, supporting many life-enhancing programs for people with disabilities (as well as refugees and immigrants, single mothers, veterans, ex-offenders, out-of-school youth, and others with economic barriers). She handled with good humor and aplomb the baffling complexity of New York City grant funding streams, and she took joy in growing her programs to reach thousands of people in need each year. She was responsible for hundreds of employees, who appreciated her direct and compassionate style of management.

Despite the exceptional accomplishments and responsibilities of her professional life, she was always there for her daughters at home, supporting them in their sports, dance recitals, school plays, and many other activities. Her daughters were her pride and joy, and Linda delighted in helping them grow into the best versions of themselves. The family enjoyed many trips and vacations together, ranging from beaches to ski slopes and covering virtually every state in the Union.

After her retirement in 2017, Linda and David resided on Hilton Head Island, SC, where Linda greatly enjoyed her daily walks along the beach; the ocean was truly her "happy place". She also liked listening to live jazz music and volunteering at the local humane society. During those years, Linda and David also travelled, and they took two especially memorable trips to Paris and then to London.

In her later years of life, there was nothing she loved more than being Grandma ("Gma") to her three grandchildren - Alex, Hazel, and Calvin. After moving to Brookline to undergo cancer treatments, Linda enjoyed making countless wonderful memories with her younger grandkids, including apple-picking, visiting Walden Pond, planting flowers, baking cookies, and celebrating many birthdays and holidays together.

Above all, Linda was a rock of support for her family, particularly for her beloved daughters. As one of her daughters said when informed of Linda's diagnosis, her Mom was "the glue that holds our family together." Linda's steadfast support and her endless patience, thoughtfulness, and love enriched the lives of all who knew her, but especially her family.

Linda was predeceased by her parents, William and Ruth Scarce. She is survived by her devoted husband, David Turner; her three dear daughters: Hilary Elizabeth Turner of Leander, Texas, Jennifer Lynne Turner of Pflugerville, Texas, and Laura Harding Turner (and husband Michael McIntosh) of Brookline; and her three cherished grandchildren: Alexander David Jaimes of Pflugerville, Texas, and Hazel Clementine McIntosh and Calvin Linden McIntosh of Brookline. She is also survived by her brother Merle Gregory Scarce (and wife Yvonne) of Johnson City, Texas, as well as her nieces Debra and Stephanie, and many cousins including Saundra and Stacey.

Altruistic to the end, Linda arranged to donate her brain to the Harvard Medical School and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to help advance research toward better treatments for glioblastoma.

A celebration of Linda's life will be arranged for a future date.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Linda's honor to the Center for Neuro-Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts

at www.danafarber.org/gift