Marguerite Turner-Short of Birmingham and Anniston, Alabama, was a native of Montgomery. Her parents were Landon Garland Smith and Lillian Marguerite Cox Smith. Her grandparents were Dr. Eugene Allen and Jane Henry Smith of Tuscaloosa; Charles Mathew and Minnie Reeves Cox of Defuniak Springs, Florida.

A member of Chi Omega sorority, she graduated from University of Alabama with a bachelor’s degree in art in 1945. After a professional stint in New York City following World War II, she met her first husband, Eugene Lauderdale Turner of Anniston, where they were married and lived for 47 years.

An accomplished, prolific artist and arts advocate, Marguerite was:

• • A founding member of the Anniston Council of Arts and Humanities

• President (1969-72) of the Knox Concert Series, a founding member of its Board of Directors which oversaw Knox’s incorporation as a nonprofit organization, and a lifetime honorary board member. Over the decades Knox has brought a stunning roster of world-class musicians and performers to Anniston. She was an honored guest at the series’ Millennium Ball in January 2000.

In 1979, she received the annual merit award from the Alabama State Council on the Arts, designated for “individuals who have displayed outstanding service in the arts in their communities”. She is listed in the 1979-80 Edition of Who’s Who Of American Women.

She was also a member of Phyllis Schlafly’s Eagle Forum founded in the early 1970’s.

A tireless volunteer for good causes, Marguerite taught handicapped children at Noble Street School in Anniston; was a past charter member and publicity director of Friends of The Anniston Public Library; organized the Concerned Citizens for the Preservation of Crown Cottage, which eventually resulted in its placement on the National Register; set up a senior citizens craft show as part of the Anniston Festival of the Arts; and organized a free concert for Anniston public schoolchildren by the Hamburg String Quartet. She is also a past member of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Marguerite loved to travel and traveled abroad extensively with husband Eugene. She also attended many art workshops, returning home with voluminous sketches and watercolors of garden spots from around the world. Her work appeared in numerous juried art shows and exhibits throughout the Southeast, and hangs in private and corporate collections.

In 2001, she moved to Birmingham after Eugene’s death in 1998 and became very active in the arts community there. She was a member of the Village Painters, The Club, and a contributor to the Welles Society of Birmingham Museum of Art. She worshipped at Cathedral Church of The Advent.

The descendant of a distinguished family of educators, Marguerite was the great-granddaughter of past University of Alabama president Dr. Landon Cabell Garland, who shepherded the university through the Civil War years before leaving to become a founding chancellor of Vanderbilt University in Nashville. Her grandfather Dr. Eugene Smith was the noted state geologist and founder of the University of Alabama Museum of Natural History. She was also a member of the Board of Regents of the University Museums and member of the Denny Society.

In 2005 she met Winthrop Allen Short, a classmate of Eugene’s from Princeton University. They were married in 2006. She then divided her time between Birmingham and a summer home in Mount Desert, Maine, where she became involved in the local community.

She has a son, Edward Graeme Turner of Birmingham; son David Garland Turner, daughter-in-law Kathy Jean Turner, and granddaughter Amanda Allyn Turner of Atlanta; a daughter, Meredith Linden Turner, also of Atlanta; and a nephew, Eugene Allen Smith II of Lakeland, Tennessee.

A memorial service was held at Cathedral Church of The Advent on Tuesday, May 24,  Canon Joe Warren officiating. Graveside services were held at Highland Cemetery in Anniston, Alabama, following the service, Canon Warren officiating.

Memorials can be made to Kindred Gentiva Hospice Foundation or to another charitable organization of your choice.

Psalm 121

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.
He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.
The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.