Former Kingston mayor Isabel Turner died in hospital on Tuesday evening surrounded by her family following a brief illness, according to her daughter, Laura Turner.
“Mom was a special person. She’d been in hospital for a few days and fortunately our family was able to see her before she passed,” said Laura Turner.
Turner says her mother, who was 85, had a short bout with pneumonia, but her death was not COVID-19-related.
Isabel Turner’s legacy as a local politician reached back decades to her time in the former Kingston Township, where she served as township reeve for 12 years and sat as a councillor for five years.
She also played an instrumental role in amalgamating the old city of Kingston, Pittsburgh Township and Kingston Township in the late 1990s.
She went on to serve one term as mayor of the newly amalgamated city of Kingston from 2000 to 2003, where she championed infrastructure improvements and getting the city’s fiscal house in order, among her many accomplishments.
She also guided the city through the 2003 blackout, a day-long power outage that impacted millions of people in North America.
Her work on the municipal merger led to the naming of a library in her honour in the former township.
Turner always liked to mention the fact she was born in Kingston, Scotland.
“When I came to Kingston and wrote my parents and said I’ve settled in Kingston my mother said why would you go 3,000 miles across the pond and settle in the same place,” she told Global Kingston in a 2003 interview.
She added: “I’ve never regretted being here. It’s one of the most beautiful places in the world.”
Turner retired from politics following the 2003 municipal election when she was defeated by Harvey Rosen in her bid for a second term as mayor, but said she had no regrets.
“I called it as I saw it. I did not offer something that I felt I couldn’t carry out because I never did and never will,” she said following the election loss.
Laura Turner, herself a former city councillor, says funeral arrangements are still being made and a celebration of life is also being planned.
She recalled her mother’s 85th birthday party last April.
“She had a wonderful time and we brought in the town crier to make a proclamation on her birthday.”
Current Mayor Bryan Paterson expressed his condolences over Twitter, and in an interview with Global News on Wednesday, called Turner a remarkable woman and a powerhouse.
“She was a strong and engaging leader, and she had a great sense of humour,” he said.
Paterson says over his own two terms as mayor, he was always able to call Turner up to ask for her advice, and along with her wise words, Paterson said she always had a funny story the two could laugh over.
Comments