Sydney Marshall Turner — beloved mother, grandmother, daughter, sister and friend — died peacefully in the arms of her daughters on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023.
Born in Roanoke on Sept. 29, 1947 to Evelyn Stearns Turner and the late Andrew Lucius Turner Jr., she greeted each new day with joy and intention to fulfill her mission to nurture, inspire, and encourage others to manifest their greatness. The eldest of six in a close-knit family, she often shared her favorite childhood memories including years as a Girl Scout; giving swimming lessons in the summer; and car trips with her family who provided the rock-solid foundation in which she flourished.
After graduating from Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Sydney Marshall received her bachelor’s degree in sociology and French from Mary Baldwin University in Staunton. She treasured her time at the women’s college along with the lasting life-long friendships developed there.
She moved to Boston and began her career at the Massachusetts State House working in the administration of former Governor Francis W. Sargent. As a proud Southerner turned Northerner, she fell in love with Boston and its people. Not surprisingly, her warmth, charm, attention to detail, communication skills, and creativity translated effortlessly from the political sphere to work in marketing and special events.
Sydney Marshall was a widely recognized and respected leader in that field for more than 35 years. Her work included groundbreaking launches for Bloomingdale’s, Jordan’s Furniture and Winston Flowers. After working independently and as a consultant, she joined Conventures Inc., where she helped produce many of the company’s signature events: Sail Boston, First Night; the Tufts Health Plan 10K for Women; and Harvard University’s 350th anniversary celebration.
When she wasn’t planning events professionally, she was planning them personally. She loved to entertain and to fill her home with family and friends. All were welcome at the holidays where leaves were added to an already sizable dining room table and often extended into an adjoining room.
From theme parties to unexpected centerpieces to her annual New Year’s card, her style and wit were legendary. Her daughters remember the hand-made Halloween costumes — a pair of dice, toothbrush and toothpaste, and Route 95 — along with the special “hope” chests she planned for each of them to store their childhood treasures.
Sydney Marshall devoted time and energy to numerous area organizations and nonprofit organizations: Young Presidents’ Organization, The Wang Center, Milton Academy, the Parkway United Methodist Church in Milton and the American Writers & Artists Institute.
In 2018, she retired to Winter Park, Fla., to be closer to her grandchildren. “The Littles,” she affectionately called them. For Tilly, now 6, and Finn, now 5, nothing was more fun than spending time with “Gigi” painting pottery, making Mickey Mouse pancakes, fishing and reading. Their adventures were boundless.
A voracious reader and a gifted writer, Sydney Marshall was always putting pen to paper writing a poem to celebrate a friend’s birthday or working on the many books she planned to publish but never got around to. She loved traditions and “memory making” almost as much as she loved rearranging furniture for fun and dancing to “oldies” on the dock of the family homestead on Fishing Bay in Deltaville.
A firm believer in the healing power of a good belly laugh, she knew how to make friends and keep them because she herself was such a good friend to so many. In her view, connecting with different kinds of people was the way to go. “Don’t stick to one group,” she would tell her young daughters. “Be kind and embrace them all.” And, as their role model, she embodied that advice.
Sydney Marshall Turner is survived by daughters, Logan Bruner Elsass and Chloe Turner Elsass; son-in-law, Clayton Rice; grandchildren, Astilbe Stearns Rice and Phinneas Wilder Rice; and her 100-year-old mother, Evelyn Stearns Turner. She is also survived by siblings, Andrew L. Turner III and his wife, Laurie; Leslie Turner Babcock; Courtney Lee Turner; Marion Roberts Morrissett; and Michael Turner Morrissett and his wife, Clay.
A celebration of life is planned for 2 p.m. Saturday, June 10, at Philippi Christian Church in Deltaville. Donations in Sydney Marshall’s name can be made to the Turner Education Fund at the Deltaville Maritime Museum, 287 Jackson Creek Road, P.O. Box 466, Deltaville, VA 23043.
