Celebration of Life Services for Mrs. Delores Jo Frasier Turnbull, age 79, of Livingston, will be conducted Saturday, May 4, 2024, at 5:00 PM with the Rev. James Shenko and Rev. Dee Wells officiating.  The family will welcome friends on Saturday from 3:00 PM until time for the services.

Delores passed away on Saturday evening, April 27, 2024, at Bailey Manor in Cookeville, Tennessee.  She was born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, on July 22, 1944, to the late Gleeson Perry “Jeep” Frasier and wife, Margret Evangeline Smith Frasier.  Delores leaves behind her husband, John Abraham Turnbull of Livingston, TN; daughters, Amy Turnbull Hollars (husband, Bob Burns), and Karen Turnbull Wolfram (husband, Tim Wolfram); and a son, Dr. John Matthew Turnbull (wife, Inga Turnbull) of Cookeville, Tennessee; eight grandchildren: John Peter Hollars (wife, Riley Smith Hollars); Caroline Hollars Officer (husband, Patrick Officer); James Aubrey Hollars (Mackynlee Sims); John Alex Wolfram (wife, Rachel); Brenna Barker (husband, Derrick Barker); Luke Wolfram; Colin Frasier Turnbull (wife, Sarah Turnbull); Lauren Anne Turnbull; and three great-grandchildren: Quinn Wolfram, Henry Wolfram and Cami Barker; along with many nieces, nephews and friends.  In addition to her parents, Delores was also predeceasedby her brother, John Eric Frasier.  

Delores Turnbull was, very simply, a force of nature.  She used her boundless energy and impressive organizational skills to serve others and to make her community a better place.  Born into a family of educators, she worked for decades in the Overton County School system as a teacher and a school psychologist.  She loved her work and nurtured the potential of many students who might not otherwise have received encouragement.  She was a positive and encouraging presence to teachers, parents, and the children she served.  

Delores was a lifelong member of First Christian Church of Livingston, where she epitomized the servant leader.  She led the youth group, served on and chaired many committees, served multiple terms as Board Chair/Moderator, participated in pastoral search efforts, taught Sunday School and vacation Bible School, sang in the choir, and played piano and organ.  For bereaved families, she was a dependable source of comfort and fine meals.  She was a generous and enthusiastic participant in any project that came along.  She dearly loved her church family.

Delores practiced radical hospitality.  She welcomed a total of thirteen foster children into her home over the years when she was still raising three young children of her own.  She hosted a dozen foreign students over the holidays in the 1970’s and 1980’s as part of the church’s Christmas International program.  Many of those foreign students became close and lifelong friends.  She opened her home to members of the extended family, providing extended care for her beloved Aunt Mollie in her final years.  Her home was a safe and welcoming place where “intolerance was not tolerated.”

Delores was a loving mother and a strong moral guide.  She taught kindness, respect, and understanding.  Her children’s greatest fear was to disappoint her.  While she offered loving and understanding counsel to her children, she could also be tough inquisitor of wayward teenagers. Delores loved to celebrate, and she made birthdays, holidays, and family reunions times of real joy.  She was a fantastic cook and hostess, and her tables groaned with good food. 

She was a loving lifelong partner to her husband, John.  Married in 1964, they enjoyed and challenged one another for almost sixty years.  Delores was a highly intelligent woman.  Her marriage to John was a true marriage of spirits and minds.  They were a beautiful couple.  They read together, worshipped together, talked politics and current events, and shared a deep and abiding love of their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.  

“Say not in grief that she is no more,

but say in thankfulness that she was.

A death is not the extinguishing of a light,

But the putting out of the lamp

because the dawn has come.”

-Rabindranath Tagore

In addition to flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Reach Academy, whose work to offer alternative pathways of success for Overton County’s youth continues her legacy of helping all children succeed.  If you wish to do so, checks can be made out to First Christian Church of Livingston, TN, with the byline Delores Turnbull – Reach.