WEDNESDAY, MAY 31, 2023
Viewing: 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Celebration of Life: 11:00 AM
HOUSE OF PRAYER
138 Hickory Street, Orange, New Jersey
Pastor Dennis M. Peterson
Order of Service
Processional
Prayer of Peace
Congregational Hymn
Old Testament Scripture
New Testament Scripture Selection
Tributes 2 minutes each Acknowledgments & Obituary Selection
Eulogy - Elder Dennis M. Peterson
Recessional
Dr. Sara Frances Turner, 90, of East Orange, New Jersey passed away on Saturday, May 20, 2023. Dr. Turner was born on June 8, 1932, to Johnny Bates and Ruby Jeffries-Coleman in Athens, Georgia. She was the youngest of four children: Benny Coleman Jr. (deceased), Roselle Coleman (deceased) and Bertha Johnson of East Orange New Jersey.
Her early education was in rural Georgia, and later in Detroit, Michigan when she stayed with her aunt. Dr. Turner did not finish high school at that time and dropped out of high school in the 11th grade. She relocated to Elizabeth, New Jersey in the early 1950’s with her two sisters and worked odd jobs to support herself.
A single mother of seven children, with no skills and depending on social services for subsistence, Dr. Turner was unsatisfied with her current economic state, and looking for a change.
In 1964, Dr. Turner accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior, and joined the Ebenezer COGIC under pastor Lenny Friar in Newark, NJ. She sang as tenor in the Ebenezer Gospel Singers, with Bishop Baines. Also in 1964, Dr. Turner learned about a federal program initiated by President Lyndon B. Johnson as part of “The Great Society” that aimed to encourage citizens who had not completed high school to erase their drop-out status and instead, “Drop-In”. And that’s exactly what she did!
Dr. Turner dropped-in to night school at Central High in Newark and received her high school diploma in 1969. With her diploma, she gained employment as a teacher’s aide in the Newark Public School system. Also in that year, Dr. Turner received her license as a missionary in the Churches of God in Christ, and later in the 1970’s she was licensed as an evangelist.
Having been bitten by the “education bug”, she decided to “drop-in” again, this time she enrolled at Essex County College where she received her associate degree. She then dropped in (again), this time enrolling in Montclair State University, where she graduated and received her bachelor’s degree in education.
Coming full circle, Dr. Turner accepted a position as a Social Worker with the same agency that had previously provided her and her children with food stamps and subsistence. She advocated for parents who needed assistance, encouraging, and inspiring those who were currently in the same position where she had been. She retired from the Essex County Division of Social Services in 1999.
That education bug struck again, and Dr. Turner attended and graduated from Seton Hall University’s graduate program and received her master’s degree in education.
But she wasn’t done. She graduated from Eastern Bible Institute where she earned the title of Doctor of Theology and taught bible study at the House of Prayer, COGIC where she remained a faithful member. And because she enjoyed showing off, she learned how to swim at 65, learned how to play the piano at 69, and danced before the Lord in four-and five-inch stilettos until her passing.
Predeceased by her husband, Horace Edward Turner (2006), Dr. Turner leaves to honor her memory seven children, Karen Farmer, Kirisha Jackson, Kawana Coleman, Kelvin Freeman (Julie), Kenita Walker (Will deceased), Keith Freeman, and her favorite/most important child, Kenneth Freeman (Kescia); her sister, Bertha Johnson; nieces, nephews, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and a host of dear family and loving friends who are indeed family.
