On January 28–three months to the day after she visited South Carolina– the League of Women Voters lost one of our strongest voices for empowering voters and defending democracy.

Dr. Deborah Turner–or Dr. T, as her colleagues affectionately called her– presided with grace over our 2022 national convention in Denver when delegates learned that Roe v. Wade had been overturned and joined our march to the state capitol to protest this injustice. She also joined protesters in Washington D.C. to demand voting rights legislation.

With her husband accompanying her, Dr. T drove state to state to meet with League members, listening to them as well as inspiring them with her words. Her typical, unassuming attire was an LWV t-shirt, which she often paired with a white suffragist suit.

No matter the challenge, she urged us to “keep on keepin’ on,” words that we will long remember. All of us who spent any time with her know what a courageous, inspirational leader and a gracious, humble human being she was.

We are all the poorer for her passing but the richer for having met and served with her.

More about Dr. Turner: 

League Mourns Loss of LWVUS President Dr. Deborah Ann Turner

Inspiration from Late LWV President Dr. Deborah Ann Turner