Minelle Elizabeth Baird Turner

Minelle Elizabeth Baird Turner, 92, died June 20, 2014 in Amarillo. Services will be at 10:00 AM Monday, June 23, 2014, at the First Baptist Church with Rev. John Glover, associate pastor of Field Street Baptist Church in Cleburne, officiating. Burial will follow in Fairview Cemetery under the direction of Carmichael-Whatley Funeral Directors. Minelle was born November 1, 1921, in her parents' home outside of Pampa, Gray County, Texas. The oldest daughter of Ernest Holmes Baird & Gladys Williams Baird, she lived in Pampa her entire life. Minelle attended Pampa schools, participating in the Pep Squad and graduating Pampa High School in 1939. From the time of her birth, Minelle attended First Baptist Church, Pampa, being baptized as a member at the age of 12. She was the oldest continuing member of the church, a tenure of almost 80 years. She taught the 5 year old Sunday school class for over 50 years and was an active member of the WMU and participated in the Sonshiners Club and the church choir. Minelle married Paul E. Turner December 22, 1940, in the parsonage of First Baptist Church. Theirs was a loving and supporting union of two best friends for almost 65 years. Family and faith were the two touchstones of Minelle's life. She was known as Sissy to her siblings and her nieces and nephews, as Mom to her sons, and Mammaw to her grandchildren & great-grandchildren. She was a central part of warm, happy memories of family gatherings and holiday celebrations, lovingly preparing special meals from recipes often times passed down for generations of the Baird family. She loved to sew and quilt, and her hands were never idle when she sat down in her chair. She was a member of the Pampa Twentieth Century Study Club, the PTA, Pampa Genealogical Society, Gray County Historical Society, and the Daughters of the American Revolution. She was very proud of her family heritage and had traced the Baird and Williams lines back many generations. Mrs. Turner was preceded in death by her parents, Ernest & Gladys Baird; her aunt/stepmother, Nelle Baird; her husband Paul in 2005; her brothers, Clyde Baird and Robert Baird; her sister Inez Rich; daughter-in-law Lynn Martin Turner; sisters-in-law Nita Baird, Pat Perkins, Gladys Marrs, Pauline Starks, Bessie Dalton, Viola Key, and May Stepken. Minelle is survived by two sons, Dan Turner and wife Terrie of Amarillo, and David Turner of Bristow, Oklahoma; brother Bill Baird of Wichita Falls; grandchildren Matthew Shane Turner and wife Krista of Amarillo, Alison Elizabeth Edwards and husband Chris of Fort Worth, Carson Beth Cahall and husband Lee of Shawnee, Oklahoma, and Jaclyn Gale Turner of Tulsa, Oklahoma; great-grandsons Matthew and Morgan Turner, Buddy, Jacob, and Caleb Cahall, and Turner Edwards; a sister-in-law Ruthie Baird; a brother-in-law Jel Perkins; numerous very loved nieces, nephews, and great-nieces and nephews. The family requests that memorials be to First Baptist Church, P.O. Box 621, Pampa, TX 79066-0621 or the White Deer Land Museum, P.O. Box 1556 Street, Pampa, TX 79066-1556. Visitation will be from 2:30-4:00 PM Sunday, June 22, 2014 at Carmichael-Whatley Funeral Home, and the family will be at 6919 Achieve Drive in Amarillo.