In Loving Memory of
Alice Turner
1932 ~ 2023
Obituary of Alice Turner
Alice Marianne Turner, 90, of St Catharines Ontario, passed away on Thursday 12th January 2023 after having had a heart attack on 22nd December 2022.Alice was born on May 7th, 1932 to Maria and Joe Prohaszka in Niagara Falls Ontario. She considered her home Tortola in the British Virgin Islands where she lived with her husband Jim for nearly 50 years. Alice had a wonderful life in the sun, supporting numerous charities on the island, attending Ladies Club functions, Masonic events, art clubs, yoga classes and arranged afternoon tea with ballroom dances with her friends and other residents of Tortola.
Her only son John lived in England where he served in the British Army for 9 years in the Household Cavalry. Every summer, Alice and Jim would travel to the UK to visit John, his wife Jan and their daughter Alicia and stay in Surrey for about 6 weeks. John and his family loved the meals Alice cooked which were often Hungarian, as Alice’s parents emigrated from Hungary during the Second World War. Alice spoke a smattering of Hungarian and visited Hungary a couple of times to meet up with distant relations.
Alice grew up in Strathroy, Ontario on a tobacco farm and was the youngest of 5 children. Her older brothers all helped on the farm as well as Alice, who was very practical. Sadly, all 4 brothers died before Alice who thankfully had the love and support of a large extended family. On moving to Niagara Falls with her parents and son, Alice worked at Niagara General Hospital for a number of years. She made some wonderful friends who she kept in contact with over the decades and only recently she was eating Chinese food with her GNGH co-workers around the corner from her retirement home, Royal Henley in St Catharines. Alice had many close friends young and old. Wherever she went she would engage in conversation with complete strangers who after an hour would often become good friends. They would often discover they had shared interests such as painting, card making, bridge or horticulture.
Alice met her second husband Jim Turner on Waikiki Beach in Hawaii in 1971. They fell in love but Alice had to be approved of by Jim’s parents so she travelled to Dorking Surrey in the UK to receive their blessing before Jim and Alice married a year later. The couple enjoyed travelling and together they explored the world.
After Jim died in Tortola, Alice was supported by a good friend Roger Harris who lived in Nanny Cay, near to Alice and Jim’s house in Palestina Palms. Fortunately, Roger also liked to travel the world so Alice found herself a travelling companion in her later years. Alicia, Alice’s granddaughter who is now 26, also has inherited a passion for travel having been to several countries around the world. Alice’s nieces Diane, Lorie and Mary are other relatives who jump at any opportunity to board a plane or cruise ship to leave the cold climate of Canada in the winter. The 3 ladies have given up hours of their time to support and care for Alice over the years, for which John is very grateful.
Alice gave a considerable amount of money to charity and to her local church. She was a strong believer in the benefits of a good education and she hopes all her great nieces and nephews will achieve success through hard work and commitment to their studies in the future.
In keeping with her wishes, cremation has taken place. Arrangements have been entrusted to Essentials Cremation and Burial Services. A celebration of her life will be held at the Chippawa Fire Hall 8696 Banting Ave, Niagara Falls, ON on Sunday, January 15, 2023 from 11:30 a.m until 4:30 p.m with a luncheon to begin at 12:30 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Heart and Stroke Foundation Ontario (research) and would be greatly appreciated by her family.
In the near future, her family will fly her ashes to the British Virgin Islands, where there will be a religious service at her local church followed by her ashes being buried in Jim’s grave, where at last they can be together.
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Alice was a wonderful friend to my mother, Jill Williams, who met her when they both worked at the Niagara General Hospital. They were lifelong friends. Alice and Jim would drop by with their camper at my parents’ hobby farm near Alliston and they had a great time reminiscing. I remember pulling up to the house and hearing gales of laughter coming from the family room. After my mother died, Alice and I would get together for an outing every summer. When she lived in Fergus we would go to the Drayton Theatre or the Wellington Museum among other places. When she lived in Niagara Falls, we would set off for Niagara-on-the-Lake for lunch or her favourite Chinese restaurant on Lundy’s Lane. She was a lovely, kind lady and I’m very grateful for her friendship. The world needs more people like Alice.
It is with deep gratitude that, as Vicar, I write to express condolences on behalf of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Tortola, BVI. I am thankful for all that Alice contributed to our little congregation – her warm and generous spirit endeared her to many.
When we held our bazaars, she always claimed the white elephant stall as her domain and her hand-made cards were always a hit. When our buildings and some of their contents were damaged by hurricane Irma, she wanted to know how she could help, even though she had suffered great loss herself. She showed particular interest in the outreach ministries undertaken by the Episcopal Church Women and in the young people of the congregation. One of her last acts was to task the youth group with looking after Jim’s grave.
It was hard to accept when Alice could no longer live in or travel to Tortola, but her name remained on our weekly prayer list and we stayed in touch. With both sadness and love we will welcome her again to rest with her beloved Jim.
On behalf of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church Women, we express our deepest condolences to the family of Mrs. Alice Turner. Alice was a faithful member of St. Paul’s Church and a member of the ECW group. She never attended meetings but made significant contributions towards the work of the ministry. She loved flowers and was always planting flowers in the church yard. Because of her many contributions to the church, her memory will live on forever at St. Paul’s. May her soul rest in peace and rise in glory.
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church Women (ECW)
Alice was a wonderful friend. She shared her life in a broad way. She introduced me to her friends who became my friends too. We shared a birthday, so we celebrated many together, wonderful birthday memories. We even stood together at church to get our birthday blessings. She loved to host teas and dinner parties and I enjoyed many of those. She was a loyal member of the women’s groups I belong to, the Episcopal Church Women of St. Paul’s Church and the Tortola Ladies Club. She supported the ECW until her passing. She introduced me to the Ladies Club of which I remain a member. Both are very worthwhile organizations that make many meaningful contributions to the community. I will miss her earthly presence. But Alice will always be in my heart as my dear friend.
To John and all the family .It has been an absolute pleasure to have known Alice since childhood .I first met Alice when my Uncle Jim brought Alice to the UK to introduce “his future bride” to the family . Aunt Alice was a big hit with everyone. The next time we met, they took myself and brother on holiday with them touring Ireland in their VW Camper .She has been a constant presence through my life and has taken a great interest in our children ,going on holiday with us and regularly coming up to stay when she was in the UK .Aunt Alice was greatly loved and will be missed by us all .
Just a few of our wonderful times with Alice
John and all of the family. It was a great pleasure to have known Alice, she was our granny’s ( Jeanne Cooke) dearest friend for many many years. Alice still joined in when the ladies of our family all got together and we enjoyed her spitfire spirit and her wonderful stories. She will be truly missed. We are sending our deepest sympathy to you all.