Lillie Mae Turner

Obituary for Lillie Mae Griffin Turner – January 25, 1926 ~ December 29, 2023

Lillie Mae Griffin Turner passed away just short of her 98^th birthday on December 29, 2023.   She was born in Decatur, Alabama but lived in the Nashville/Franklin area for nearly 60 years.  She was predeceased by her parents, Roy Edgar Griffin and Ida Lee Tapscott Griffin and all of her seven siblings.   She was happily married to Henry Alton Turner for 65 years before his death in 2011. 

She is survived by her loving family:  daughters Ginni Turner Goldsberry and son-in law Jamie Goldsberry, and Carol Turner Hawkins and son-in law Hylton Hawkins; grandson Tyler Henry Hawkins, granddaughter-in-law Maggie and their baby daughter Emery; granddaughters Dana Marcille Jones and grandson-in-law Mike Jones, and Elizabeth Kelly; greatgrandchildren, Carter Jones, Barrett Jones, Madeline Jones, Kendall Kelly and Dulin Kelly; numerous nieces and nephews and a host of dear friends.

Lillie was an active community member who lived a joyful and engaging life always giving of her time and talents.   She was a member of the Joy Class at Crievewood Baptist Church and created their “Bride’s Room” believing their every Bride was special and she participated in Wednesday night meal prep and various other activities.  She had her own catering business for several years that she said was not a “for-profit’ business but a ‘for-joy” business preparing food that was delicious and pretty as well.  She was an active member of the Woman’s Club, Home Demonstration Club, volunteered at hospitals and other places in need, was actively engaged in her Morningside Senior Living community where she enjoyed hosting parties, decorating the clubhouse, started a Lending Library and was a founding member of “the Alley Cats” – a ladies card group of special friends for over 20 years.  She enjoyed taking road trips with her sisters and traveling to various big cities with her daughters.   

She authored two books on genealogy from her parents’ lineage doing computer research and a trip to the National Archives in Washington DC, but she enjoyed historical research the old-fashioned way by searching libraries and court records, roaming through cemeteries, and talking with people about their memories and finding treasured information in family Bibles.  Her family was very important to her and she loved seeing the generations expand.

Curious by nature, she was always a problem solver and loved a challenge and she took up Ballroom Dancing at age 70 and even won some competitions.  She and her sisters learned the art of quilting from their mother at an early age and those beautiful old quilts cover many beds to this day.  Lillie was known for her jigsaw puzzles and never met a puzzle she didn’t like, laboring for hours over interesting, complex ones to create a final picture --friends and family always knew the perfect gift for her. 

Lillie always had a positive outlook and enjoyed life to its fullest treasuring her life-long friends.  Late in life, she received the support and blessings from so many as she had always given.  Her life was meaningful, rooted in her faith, and was filled with love.  She would say she believed in adding happiness, love and beauty to the world, no matter how small and would say “what else could we want”.   

Lillie will be buried next to her beloved husband at Harpeth Hills Memory Gardens.