Jean Stewart Turner, 100, of Stonebridge at Montgomery, Skillman died August 31. Raised in Summit, New Jersey, she graduated from Kent Place School and attended Smith College. Jean married her love, Gordon B. Turner, in 1939. The couple settled in Princeton following WWII, when Gordon returned to complete his education at Princeton University and then to become a faculty member. They lived in Princeton until his death in 1996, enjoying many activities together—family, hiking, foreign travel, bridge, and a shared enthusiasm for politics.
Jean had a passion for the arts and was an active docent for many years at the Princeton University Art Museum. She enjoyed giving tours, especially to children, whose innate ability to see what others could not never ceased to amaze her. Perhaps more than any other interest, nature claimed her heart. This deeply felt connection led Jean to develop a particular affinity for the museum’s Asian art collection. Jean refused to be inactive in her later years, preferring instead to audit courses at Princeton, attend concerts and other cultural events, play bridge, and to read extensively. Her concern was with the sustainability of a sound, curious, and engaged mind. She had many friends of all ages. Open-minded and loving a good laugh, Jean’s friends could always count on her to be accepting and a source of fun. Devoted to family, Jean is survived by her daughters, Michael Ann Walstad and Gazey Turner of Lawrenceville, two granddaughters and their husbands, Kim and Matthew Zablud and Avery and Doug Connolly, and two great grandsons, Lee Zablud and Silas Connolly, all of the Washington, D.C. area. Beloved by her family, she will be deeply missed.
At Jean’s request, a quiet family remembrance will be held. Thinking of Jean on a walk in the woods or a visit to a museum would be a lovely tribute. Her family would like to thank the staffs of Assisted Living at Stonebridge and Princeton Hospice for their compassionate and devoted care.
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