Sister Margaret Turner (Sister St. George)- 70th Jubilee

Written on: April 4, 2016

Sister Margaret Turner (Sister St. George) was the daughter of a farm family and learned at a young age to live simply and work hard. She entered the Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart, completed nursing training and, in 1954, was sent to Kodiak, Alaska. Five sisters ran the 18 bed Griffin Memorial Hospital. Sister Margaret grew to love the rugged beauty of the island and the honest simplicity of its inhabitants. She lived through the 1964 Anchorage earthquake and resulting tidal wave. When the sea receded, she and the sisters worked side by side with the people of Kodiak to restore order. She now resides in a skilled care facility, her indomitable spirit alive and well.

I can’t believe I have been a Grey Nun for 70 years! The day I entered seems like yesterday. It all went by so fast! Now that I am older and retired, I have more time than ever to think, to remember, to reflect and to pray. And the more I think and remember, I realize that my faith was continually deepened because God showed Himself in so many good people during my life. The simple farm folks in Pope’s Mills, New York, near where I grew up. The goodhearted people of Plattsburg, New York, including the nurses, doctors and patients where I worked at Champlain Valley Hospital. And the genuine, unpretentious people of Kodiak, Alaska. God blessed me by putting me in their lives and them in mine and I am grateful to Him for that blessing.

Read Sister Margaret Turner’s Memories of Ministry click here

This entry was posted in Our 2016 Jubilarians and tagged: 1964 Anchorage earthquake, Faith, Griffin Memorial Hospital Kodiak Alaska, nurse, Plattsburg NewYork, pray, reflect