Lois (Howell) Turlington

Ethel Lois Turlington, age 84, went home to be with her Lord and Savior on Monday, Dec. 28, 2020. She was born on July 28, 1936 in Nash County, N.C., and was the daughter of the late Lonnie Henry Howell, Sr. and Eva Edmondson Howell. She was preceded in death by two sisters, Joyce Gray Brantley and Patsy Faye Howell, and five brothers: James Robert, Norman Speight, Leslie “Peewee,” Lonnie Henry, Jr. and Earl “Eddie” Howell.

A graveside service will be held at 1:30 PM on Saturday at Harnett Devotional Gardens, 5665 Fairground Rd, Dunn, NC with Rev. Lamont Hemminger officiating. 

Lois cared for everyone she ever met, but if she didn’t care for the way you were acting, she was sure to let you know in the sweetest, funniest way. And though she was only five feet tall, her personality was big enough to light up an entire room.

She loved to shop. Her very first job was at Sears, and she was a loyal Belk card owner for over 60 years. She even worked at the National Cash Register Company when just one computer took up a whole room. We might hold computers in our pockets now, but with Lois, those big computers were in good, little hands.

She believed that every individual was special, that they deserved a chance to be the best that they could be and that it was never too late for them to try. And when someone needed help, she made sure they got it. Whether it be delivering food to seniors with Meals on Wheels, working on a mission project with her First Baptist Church of Tarboro women’s circle or taking care of her husband, children and grandchildren, Lois would—and could—do anything to make sure those around her were healthy and happy.

And music made her happy. After being the drum major for Rocky Mount High School, where she graduated, she enjoyed singing alto in her church choir, and she shared her love of music as director of the children’s preschool choir—or with anyone who might’ve heard her singing Christmas carols as she baked ginger snaps for everyone she knew each December.

Lois hesitated to take anything from anyone, but provided everything for everyone, and that’s just one of the many special reasons that her family will miss her presence so much.

Lois is survived by her husband of 54 years, Fred Turlington, her daughter, Anita Turlington, and her son, David Turlington, and his wife, Robin; her sister Mary Howell Aycock of Rocky Mount; and her brother DIck Howell and his wife, Jean, of Rocky Mount; as well as four grandchildren: Cee Cee Huffman, Laura Turlington, Anna Turlington and Walter Turlington Huffman.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America in Lois’ memory.

https://alzfdn.org/support-us/donate/

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