Mary Lewis (Schlumberger) Turner

Mary Lewis (Schlumberger) Turner of Little Rock, entered eternal life on October 12, 2010. She was born in Menard, Texas on November 19, 1922. Mary served in the Women's Army Corps during World War II. She attended Texas Women's University, the University of Arkansas and the University of Texas. She achieved bachelor's degrees in English and art with graduate studies in art. She taught both subjects at Little Rock Central High School, Henderson Junior High School (Little Rock), and Mason (Texas) High School. Mary was a member of the Women's Emergency Committee during the Little Rock school desegregation crisis. She was an accomplished and award-winning artist in watercolor and oil media, and she was the author of three books that demonstrated her love for her native Texas Hill Country and the spunk, intelligence and humor of its people. Her first book, A While Back; Essays in Celebration of the Past, chronicled her youth in Menard County, Texas, during the Great Depression. Her last two books were meticulously researched studies of the genealogy and life of Julius Splittgerber, her great-grandfather who was a German settler in the Texas Hill Country in the early 1800s. As her resume reflects, Mary was devoted to education, politics, the arts, and history. Indeed she was opinionated and stood by her convictions regardless of the consequences, never apologetic for them as she always had inarguable reasons for her views. When she did changed her mind, she resolutely denied holding a previous, contrary view in the first place. She had two eccentric yet endearing vices: She was a clothes horse and had an odd penchant for Mercedes-Benzes, neither of which was well suited to public school teaching or the hardscrabble Texas Hill Country, but both of which unmistakably marked her presence. She was entirely devoted to her two husbands, Hans and Edd, and tirelessly supported them in their pursuits. Hans was a renowned research pathologist in cancer research whom she met in Washington during WWII. Edd, a college sweetheart with whom she reunited after Hans's death, was a widely recognized petroleum geologist who became mayor of Kerrville, Texas after his retirement. Mary nurtured and challenged her children—both her natural children and her students—to engage in independent thought and inquiry and to seize the benefits and adapt to the burdens that the mystery of life presents. Mary was predeceased by her husbands, Hans G. Schlumberger and Edd R. Turner, and her daughter, Jane Blackwell. She is survived by her daughter, Ann L. Schlumberger (Robert Young) of Tucson; son-in-law, Jim Blackwell of Phoenix, and son, Charles L. Schlumberger (Ann B.) of Little Rock. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Calvary Episcopal Church, Menard, Texas 76859, or to Hill Country Arts Foundation, 120 Point Theatre Road S, Ingram, Texas 78025. May the Eyes of Texas and God's Grace (the two synonymous to Mary) forever be upon her! Online guestbook: www.rollerfuneralhomes.com/chenal.