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Sandy Turner
In Memory Ms. Sandy Turner
Loss of someone you care about is always difficult, but when I learned that Commission Member Sandy Turner had lost her battle with breast cancer on December 2nd, I was devastated. I had spoken with her a couple weeks before and she was doing well, she was headed out to play bridge and looking forward to the holidays. She died in her sleep days after spending the thanksgiving holiday with her family and friends. Despite her true Southern Belle demeanor, Sandy was a fighter. She fought back to live after her spinal cord injury in a car crash in 1994 and later survived two bouts of septicemia. Unfortunately, the stage 4 breast cancer was a formidable foe. But, she did not let it get her down. As her daughter Withers noted, when Sandy called to tell her about the diagnosis, Withers was in tears. Sandy told her not to worry adding, “Well, I’m not going to sit here and cry for the rest of my life.” And she didn’t! Less than a year after her injury, in January of 1995, Governor Jim Guy Tucker appointed Sandy to the Arkansas Spinal Cord Commission. She was reappointed in 2005 by Governor Mike Huckabee making her one of the longest serving members in the history of our Commission. Sandy served the Commission well. Her positive attitude provided support to me and to the Commission over the years. “Cheryl, you just don’t worry about that, you are doing a good job,” she’d tell me, even in the worst of times. The fact that she knew so many people through her experience as producer of Channel 7’s ‘Seven on Your Side’ before her injury and her huge network of friends made it easy for her to say “just call…..” when we had a need or a problem. In 2004, under Sandy’s term as Chair, the Commission members decided that we needed a private, not-for-profit foundation to allow us to receive private grants and funds. Sandy was again our motivator, serving as President of the Arkansas Spinal Cord Foundation until her death. She read every grant application and letter of request and offered suggestions and wording changes before she signed them. No one was happier than Sandy when we got a grant. Though she had resources to cover her own spinal cord related expenses, she ‘fought’ to find resources for those who did not. The Commission, our Foundation, our staff and I personally will miss Sandy Turner. In her quiet, private way, she has had a great impact on the lives of innumerable Arkansans with spinal cord disabilities, most of whom she never met. Rest in Peace, my friend. Cheryl Vines |
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