Sheryl Turner

In the early hours of Saturday, January 24, 2026, Sheryl Diane Wilson Turner peacefully slipped the bonds of her broken Earthly body and awoke transformed and pain-free in the presence of her Maker. Sheryl was born in Florala, Alabama on June 21, 1947, to Clyde Wilson and Mary Evelyn Garrett Ethridge. She grew up an Army brat, spending her formative years in several locations, including Arizona, the United Kingdom, and Greece. After high school, Sheryl did a brief, glamorous stint of traveling the country as a flight attendant with Braniff Airlines. After moving back to the Florida Panhandle, she attended Okaloosa Walton Junior College (now Northwest Florida State College), and then Florida State University, where she earned bachelor’s degrees in Early Childhood Education and Home Economics, and a master’s degree in Education. While attending Florida State, Sheryl met her husband, Walter Guy Turner; they were married March 15, 1974. Sheryl’s joy in life was education. She spent her entire career serving as a teacher in Leon County schools. She was also active with the FSU College of Education, mentoring countless student teachers and interns, as well as assisting with instructional design for the internship program. She attended Covenant Presbyterian Church most of her life, serving as a church Elder and teaching Sunday School and vacation Bible school. She enjoyed decorating for holidays and making craft projects of various mediums, painting and sketching, and loved watching British television. In her later years, Sheryl lived in the Westminster Oaks retirement community, where she made many friends and enjoyed the robust activity schedule, including art classes, movie nights and chapel services. Sheryl is preceded in death by her mother, Mary Evelyn Ethridge; her niece, Jennifer Lynn Burt Sweat, and her beloved husband of 41 years, Walt. She is survived by her daughters, Evie Deegan (Joe) of Tallahassee and Trueby Bodiford (Jeb) of Los Angeles, California; six grandchildren — Wyatt and Leah Crosby of Tallahassee, Joelle Deegan of Starkville, Mississippi, and Sam, Katy and Bradley Bodiford of Los Angeles; sisters Joan Jordan (David Simons) of DeFuniak Springs, Tamara Ard (Royce) of Atlanta, Georgia; brother Ben Wilson of Shallotte, North Carolina; brother-in-law Jon Turner (Marie) of Rochester, New York, and many beloved nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, Sheryl asked for donations to be sent to Big Bend Hospice, as she and our family believe that their staff members are truly angels on Earth.

Sheryl Turner

June 21, 1947 - January 24, 2026