PORTLAND- Jacquelyn Coulston “Jackie” Turner of Portland died peacefully Tuesday, September 8, at Gosnell Memorial Hospice House in Scarborough, after a six-year battle with cancer, surrounded by her loving family and her many devoted friends. She was 66.
A lifelong Maine resident, Jackie was born in Portland on June 25, 1949, and grew up in the Pine Point area of Scarborough. She graduated from Scarborough High School in 1967, later earning a B.A. and M.Ed. from the University of Southern Maine. In 1971 she married Lloyd “Jack” Turner with whom she raised two sons, Sam and Isaac.
From 1990 until 2005 Jackie worked in several different capacities at Waynflete School in Portland. While serving as Waynflete’s Dean of Students she led the conception and implementation of the mentor program, which remains active today. Her work on this program cultivated a close relationship between students at Waynflete and those at neighboring Reiche School, and laid the groundwork for Waynflete’s expanded outreach to the resettled refugee communities throughout Portland. From 2006 until 2010 she and her husband were the caretakers on Cushings Island, where they formed many new and lasting friendships. After her retirement, Jackie was very active in her spiritual community, daily offering her experience, strength, and hope to others. When she wasn’t building connections locally she was traveling or planning her nextadventure abroad.
Jackie was always eager to put others’ needs before her own, an ethic she embodied not meekly or retiringly but with passion, good cheer, and wit. She was beloved for her energy, her irreverent sense of humor, her love of animals, and her commitment to service. Believing that gratitude makes us stronger and wiser, she was generous in the thanks she gave to others, and always encouraged others to be mindful of the gifts life had given them. When, in the last days of her life, she was asked if she’d like to see the hospice representatives who had been assisting her at home, her response was characteristic: “Yes. To say ‘thank you.’” She was an example for her family and friends to the end; it is with great sorrow that we mark her passing, but even greater gratitude that we reflect on the inestimable gift of having known her.
Jackie is survived by her sons Samuel Turner, 40, of Knoxville, Tennessee, and Isaac Turner, 35, of Philadelphia, her brothers Mark Coulston and Vance Coulston, sisters-in-law Theresa Coulston, Gloria Coulston, and Jill Turner, niece JaymieCoulston with whom she was especially close, and several othernieces and nephews. She is predeceased by her brother, Donald Coulston, who died in 1999, and her husband of 39 years, Jack Turner, who died in 2010.
A celebration of her life will be held at the Maine Irish Heritage Center, 34 Gray St, Portland, on Saturday, October 17, at 2:00 PM.
Arrangements are with Chad E. Poitras Cremation and Funeral Service. Online condolence messages can be submitted at the funeral home's website, www.mainefuneral.com.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Cancer Community Center, cancercommunitycenter.org, (207) 774-2200.