| Mary P. Curtis Turner |
2009
Mary Turner, 93, an artist who was the widow of James Castle "J.C." Turner, a labor leader and D.C. City Council member, died Dec. 11 at
the Edenton assisted-living home in Frederick. She had dementia.
Mrs. Turner was an oil painter and sculptor, and her work was exhibited at the Corcoran Gallery of Art and other art centers. She taught art
to senior citizens through a project at St. Columba's Episcopal Church in Washington, where she had been a member.
Mary Pauline Curtis was born in Lincoln, Neb., and grew up in Washington, where she was a graduate of Eastern High School. She attended
the Corcoran School of Art in the early 1950s.
She was a founding board member of the Washington Ballet.
She was married for 63 years before her husband's death in 1996. He was president of the International Union of Operating Engineers and
helped champion racial integration in the union movement. In 1967, he became a member of District's first appointed city council.
Survivors include five children, Vivian Polak of Marina del Rey, Calif., Daniel Turner of Highland, Md., Brian Turner of Gerrardstown, W.Va.,
and Silver Spring, Lisa Oshins of Santa Barbara, Calif., and Lauran Gintel of Hollywood, Fla.; two brothers, Robert Curtis of Verona, Pa.,
and William Curtis of Bethesda; a sister, Inga Saunders of Woodbridge; nine grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
-- Adam Bernstein
The Washington Post
Mary Turner, 93, an artist who was the widow of James Castle "J.C." Turner, a labor leader and D.C. City Council member, died Dec. 11 at
the Edenton assisted-living home in Frederick. She had dementia.
Mrs. Turner was an oil painter and sculptor, and her work was exhibited at the Corcoran Gallery of Art and other art centers. She taught art
to senior citizens through a project at St. Columba's Episcopal Church in Washington, where she had been a member.
Mary Pauline Curtis was born in Lincoln, Neb., and grew up in Washington, where she was a graduate of Eastern High School. She attended
the Corcoran School of Art in the early 1950s.
She was a founding board member of the Washington Ballet.
She was married for 63 years before her husband's death in 1996. He was president of the International Union of Operating Engineers and
helped champion racial integration in the union movement. In 1967, he became a member of District's first appointed city council.
Survivors include five children, Vivian Polak of Marina del Rey, Calif., Daniel Turner of Highland, Md., Brian Turner of Gerrardstown, W.Va.,
and Silver Spring, Lisa Oshins of Santa Barbara, Calif., and Lauran Gintel of Hollywood, Fla.; two brothers, Robert Curtis of Verona, Pa.,
and William Curtis of Bethesda; a sister, Inga Saunders of Woodbridge; nine grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
-- Adam Bernstein
The Washington Post