Lila Lee Spence Turnage

Lila Lee Spence Turnage, 94, went home to be with God and Jesus for eternity on April 14, 2024. Lila was born February 15, 1930, in Houston, Texas, to Lester Butler Spence and Lela Elizabeth Pritchett Spence. Lila was predeceased in 2004 by her husband of 52 years, William F. Turnage, and in 2010 by her sister, Betty Eckert. Lila spent most of her adult life serving others in the role of a preacher's wife, through ministries in Houston, Center and Canadian, Texas; Oakley, Kansas; and the last 17 years before her husband's retirement in 1991 at Rylie Christian Church in Dallas. Additionally, in Canadian, she served as Director of a special-ed program, and in Mesquite, she worked for H&R Block as an income tax return preparer and trainer until 1999. In widowhood she enjoyed traveling with family to places she had only dreamed of before, including Canada, New Hampshire, Branson, and Lake Tahoe, until she was no longer physically able to travel.
She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Michael L. and Marinell Turnage of Dallas; her daughter and son-in-law, Susan Carol and John Michael Duke of Mesquite; her son and daughter-in-law John Paul and Misayo Turnage of San Diego, California; and her daughter and son-in-law, Teresa and Matthew Hewitt of Mt. Vernon, Kentucky, as well as ten grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren.
Although Lila ("Granny") outlived most of her friends, she will be missed by those at Cheyenne Medical Lodge in Sunnyvale, her final residence. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations may be made in Lila's memory to the William F. "Brother Bill" Turnage memorial scholarship fund at Johnson University. Checks for memorial gifts should be made out to Johnson University with the fund name in the memo line and mailed to 7900 Johnson Dr., Knoxville, TN 37998, or you may give online at: www.JohnsonU.edu/Donate.
Visitation with the family will be April 24, 2024, from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. at Laurel Oaks Funeral Home, 12649 Lake June Road, Mesquite, Texas 75180, with graveside services to be held at the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery at 11:30 a.m. on April 25, 2024.