Elizabeth Tufel Turner passed away Saturday, October 3, 2020 at the spry age of 93. She was a resident of Sterling, Virginia. Liz was born Elizabeth Ann Tufel the daughter of John Fitzgerald and Freda Wasson Tufel, on January 15, 1927 in New York City where she lived until moving to Waterbury, CT as a teenager. She had one sister, Nancy Tufel Kirn. A concert-level pianist, Liz studied music at Wheaton College in Massachusetts and graduated with the Class 1949, then went on to make a record album before her marriage. She had enough talent to land an agent but chose marriage and family over career.

Liz married Michael Griswold Turner on September 8, 1951 in Waterbury, Connecticut. They had "six perfect children" and lived in New York City, NY; Darien, CT; Surrey, England; Houston, TX; Washington, DC; Potomac, MD; Atlanta, GA; and Bay Head, NJ.

Known as a vivacious, intelligent, charismatic and compassionate lady who was always the life of the party, Liz welcomed anyone hungry for love, food, or laughter at her table and was known for opening her home to those who were weary. Her children's friends remember her as "Old Aunt Liz" who always kept them amused with her antics.

Liz traveled the world with Mike, including a trip to Russia during the Cold War in the 1960's. While living in England, she broke with tradition and voted for John Kennedy in the presidential election, rather than voting with her husband's choice of the opposing party. For the rest of her life she said it was one of the two most important votes she ever cast, as it was the first one she did independently. Until her eyesight began to fade, she read the New York Times cover to cover almost daily, but most of all, Liz's life was all about her family.

Nothing made her happier than having all her kids with her and she looked forward to her annual birthday party every January when family and close friends would arrive from across the country to help her celebrate. During her years living in Bay Head, Liz was known to squeeze as many as sixteen people around her dining room table to serve up dinners of lobster, Jersey corn and tomatoes. Liz knew no strangers - the more the merrier. Throughout her married life, Liz was known as a master-entertainer and hosted hundreds of glamorous and interesting parties, whether an intimate evening for six, to hundreds of people filling the backyard of their home in Houston.

Liz volunteered as a Candy Striper at the local hospital in CT when her children were young, and later worked with Crisis Hotline in Houston, and The Museum for Women in the Arts in Washington, DC. She was a lover of opera and the symphony, museums, reading, and flowers and she continued to learn about different cultures and history while traveling with Mike after his retirement.

Liz was deeply in love with her husband throughout her life. When he passed away in 2012, she moved to Sterling, VA to be near some of her children and grandchildren. Her sparkling personality was the Light of the senior residence where she had an apartment and she was loved by all who lived and worked there.

Liz leaves behind six children: John Turner, Mike Turner, Jr., Nanci Turner Steveson, Jamie Turner, Craig Turner and Ashley Turner, along with three daughters-in-law, fourteen grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. The family will have a private memorial service in the future. If you would like to make a donation in her name, both St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital and The Obama Foundation were meaningful to her.