Clara W. Turner

"I am SO Blessed"

Clara Walker Turner arrived in this world with a stubborn edge. She was born in a little frame house in Paintertown, Georgia on June 5, 1923 to John Henry and Susie Walker. Susie’s labor took so long, the doctor got tired of travelling to the house to deliver the baby. He finally just lay down on the couch and waited ‘til Clara was good ‘n ready to make her debut.

She grew up near Copperhill, Tennessee and graduated from Morganton High School. In early 1942, a young man named Buford Turner knocked on Clara’s front door and asked to speak to her father. As they talked, Clara mentioned that she was going to a movie in Copperhill and asked if he would drive her to town.

He said yes, and four months later Buford asked Clara “Do you want to change your name?” She said “yes”, graduated high school at the end of May, 1942, celebrated her 19th birthday on the fifth of June, then married Buford on June 12, 1942 in the Ordinary’s office in Blue Ridge, Georgia.

In their early marriage, WWII was raging and hard times had enveloped the nation. The Turners were part of that post-Great Depression, conservative generation who learned how to “make do, or do without”. She stitched clothes out of cotton feed sacks, grew and canned her own vegetables, saved everything. Clara shopped frugally, wasted nothing, and carried no debt.

Clara and Buford eventually settled in Marietta, Georgia where she resided 69 years. They shared almost 55 years of marriage. She birthed six children, only three survived to adulthood.

Baby Larry died at age ten days. After the tragic death of their second child, Roy (age 16), Clara and Buford rented a fixer-upper cabin in Kellum Valley near Cleveland, Georgia. She found solace in the Appalachian foothills and distraction through the remodel project.

Her stubbornness helped push her through the grieving process. After their third child, Wanda (age 18), died, Mom committed to reading her Bible and journaling every day. The bitterness within her heart began to heal.

In her later years, Clara became a rescuer of dolls - hundreds of pre-hugged, tossed-off ones that no one else wanted. Eventually, dolls graced almost every room in both Turner homes.

Her greatest love was for her children, their spouses and grandchildren. She is survived by Charles Turner, wife Sandra, Deborah Anderson, husband Brian, and Karen Casey, husband Mike; ten grandchildren (Scott Turner, Marcia Arnott, Shanda Vick, Adam Blair, Nicole Starling, Autumn Vaughn, Ryan Casey, Benjamin Turner, Christen Burt, Jason Jones and 24 great-grandchildren.

Clara was feisty. If her children started to do something out of line, she would threaten to pull their tail feathers or whoop up on them with her flip flop. She warned “Now, listen here!” and you would stop whatever trouble you were causing and pay attention. She tabled unsolved challenges with an “I’ll think about that tomorrow” attitude. She often left three words on her kid’s answering machine – “Boo, guess who?” When asked, “How are you?” she simply stated, “I’m fat and sassy” or “fantastic!”

Grandchildren couldn’t walk past her without getting a tickle accompanied by the words “gobble gobble”. “Scooterpoopin’” (NOT scooterpootin’) to the thrift store or buying groceries at Aldi’s was her “fun on the town”.

Clara battled heart disease, breast cancer, arthritis, diabetes, and severe back pain. She suffered the agony of losing three children and her beloved Buford, who succumbed to lung cancer in 1997. Her faith in God, the love of family and that streak of stubbornness helped sustain her through 91 years of life.

Clara Turner was one of the oldest and longest-attending members of Mt. Zion Baptist Church, which was located within walking distance of her Marietta home. She taught vacation Bible school and made sure her children were regular church attendees on Sunday morning, evening and Wednesday night. She was on her 37th reading of the entire Bible.

She planned to live to age 100 and spend all her kids’ inheritance. She never said “I can’t” do something. She treated others the way she wanted to be treated and expected her children to do the same. She refused to give up when times were tough. Stubborn.

Clara was a loving mother and a woman of quiet faith. At the end of her life, no matter the difficult challenges or health issues she faced life, she would say “I’m SO blessed. I’m SO blessed.”