Obituary: Marilyn Frances Raleigh Turner

Marilyn Frances Raleigh Turner (Fran), 79, died on Monday, Sept. 20, 2010, after years of battling rheumatoid arthritis. She collapsed on Sept. 13, and passed away despite a week of heroic efforts by the staff of Yavapai Regional Hospital, Prescott, Ariz.

Fran was born on Sept. 8, 1931, in Conway, Ark., and moved with her family to Arizona in 1945. She graduated from Scottsdale High School in 1949 and from Pomona College in California, in 1953. She returned to Scottsdale and met Lt. James O. Turner, USAF (Jim), in 1955. They were married on May 12, 1956, and Fran remained an Air Force wife, living in various cities in the United States, England and Germany, until 1975, when Jim retired from the Air Force and the couple settled in Paradise Valley, Ariz.

In 1991, the couple tired of the desert heat and moved to Prescott, Ariz.

Fran was an avid reader, often reading a book a day. She was also a skilled bridge player, having played the game since childhood.

She leaves her husband, Jim; a son, Mark, and his wife, Moira of Tempe, Ariz.; and a daughter, Kathy Fernandez, and her husband, Ralph of Glendale, Ariz.; four grandchildren; and a large circle of friends.

Fran's funeral will be at 1 p.m. Friday, Sept. 24, 2010, at Heritage Memory Mortuary, 131 Grove Ave., Prescott, Ariz. Gifts in her memory may be made to Habitat for Humanity or Yavapai Food Bank.

Heritage Memory Mortuary is caring for the family.

Information provided by survivors.


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