Norma Joyce Turner

A celebration of life for Cortez resident Norma Joyce Turner will be held from 2-4 p.m. Friday, July 26, 2019 at Ertel Memorial Chapel. Pastor Jean Schwein will officiate. Memorial contributions can be made in Joyce’s name to Hospice of Montezuma, P.O. Drawer 740, Cortez, CO 81321 or to Hope’s Kitchen, P.O. Box 1016, Cortez, CO 81321.
Norma Joyce Turner was born January 28, 1937 in Lamesa, TX to Freddie Floyd (Young) and George Cecil (Sie) Douthit. She passed away surrounded by her family at her home in Cortez on July 19, 2019.
Joyce grew up living all over the United States as her father, Sie, was a welder with the pipeline companies that laid some of the first gas lines in the country. While working in Farmington, NM, he visited friends in Cortez, CO and fell in love with the area. At that point, he decided that that would be a good place to settle down and make that the family’s last move.
Joyce was a sophomore when the family moved from Lamesa, TX to Cortez, CO. Upon arrival, she started attending Montezuma Cortez High School (MCHS) and graduated in May, 1955. Soon after graduation she married Dean Roseberry. Their family grew with the birth of a daughter, Neva Dianne, and a son, Corby Kent. She worked in the superintendent’s office at MCHS and then as an assistant to the principle at Kemper Elementary school. Then the family moved to Durango where Dean was part owner of Roseberry Plumbing; then they moved to Ouray where they owned and operated a motel. After a divorce, Joyce moved back to Durango and worked at Wells Fargo Bank, where she retired after 20 years of service.
While in Durango she met and later married Walter Turner. They were married in March, 1998. After their retirement, they moved to Cortez and were able to renew old acquaintances and make new friends through associations in the church, dancing, playing cards and dominos. Joyce was active in the First United Methodist Church and many other organizations. She was a proud member of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), and Daughters of the Republic of Texas (DRT), and the American Legion Auxiliary; DAR and DRT memberships were through the Douthit linage. Joyce also enjoyed working in her yard and helping others.
Joyce was preceded in death by her parents and her husband, Walter. She is survived by her beloved sisters, Maidee Leonard and Glenda Allen of Cortez, CO; her daughter, Diann Franklin (Bill) of Kodiak, AK; her son, Corby “Buddy” Roseberry (partner Cathy Adkins) of Albuquerque, NM, and step son, Paul Turner (Radonna) of Palmer, AK. Joyce is also survived by six grandchildren, Randy, John, Seth, Sonya, Rhnea, and Andrea (with their spouses); and 19 great grandchildren.