[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 76 (Tuesday, May 20, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E783-E784]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 IN HONOR OF SUE MARIE THOMPSON TURNER

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR.

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 20, 2014

  Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, it is with a heavy heart and 
solemn remembrance that I rise today to pay tribute to an outstanding 
citizen and servant of humankind, Mrs. Sue Marie Thompson Turner. 
Sadly, Mrs. Turner passed away on Thursday, May 8, 2014. Funeral 
services were held on Saturday, May 10, 2014 at 11:00 a.m. at St. Luke 
Methodist Church in Columbus, Georgia.
  A Columbus native, Mrs. Turner was born on August 28, 1929 to Dr. 
John Barkwell Thompson and Mildred Marie Dykes Thompson. She graduated 
from Columbus High School and attended Wesleyan College in Macon, 
Georgia. In 1948, she returned to Columbus to marry the love of her 
life, William

[[Page E784]]

``Bill'' B. Turner. During their remarkable sixty-five years of 
marriage, Mrs. Turner was the epitome of a loving wife, mother, 
grandmother and great-grandmother. A strong-willed woman, she was 
fiercely committed to raising a loving family by instilling in each of 
them the good values and morals that she and her husband embodied. 
Known as ``Precious'' to her family, she showed her support for her six 
children, 21 grandchildren, 20 great-grandchildren, and countless 
friends at hundreds of ball games, dance recitals and birthday parties.
  One of the things I admired most about Mrs. Turner was her ability to 
make each person she met feel special because he or she was indeed 
special to her. No person was ever a stranger to her because she could 
make anyone feel like part of the family from the moment they met.
  Mrs. Turner loved her community dearly and was constantly working to 
improve it. She was active in the Bradley-Turner Foundation, a 
charitable non-profit organization that has given millions of dollars 
to various projects in Columbus and the Chattahoochee Valley region. 
The Turner family also helped launch the Pastoral Institute forty years 
ago. The organization provides counseling and educational resources to 
assist people who are going through difficult and traumatic times in 
their lives. The Pastoral Institute established the Sue Marie and Bill 
Turner Servant Leadership Award to honor couples who have made 
significant contributions to the community. The Turners received the 
first award in 2012. In addition, the Turner family has long supported 
St. Francis Hospital. The new Women's Hospital was named in Mrs. 
Turner's honor last fall.
  George Washington Carver once said, ``No individual has any right to 
come into the world and go out of it without leaving behind distinct 
and legitimate reasons for having passed through it.'' We are all so 
blessed that Mrs. Sue Marie Turner passed this way and during her 
life's journey did so much for so many for so long. She leaves behind a 
great legacy in service to her beloved family and to all those whose 
lives she touched and brightened with her radiant smile and rich 
laughter. She will truly be missed.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues in the House of Representatives to 
join me, my wife, Vivian, and the Columbus, Georgia community in paying 
tribute to Mrs. Sue Marie Turner for her outstanding contributions to 
her community. We extend our deepest sympathies to her family, friends 
and loved ones during this difficult time and we pray that they will be 
consoled and comforted by an abiding faith and the Holy Spirit in the 
days, weeks and months ahead.

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