Elizabeth Ann Turner (68), maiden name Elizabeth Ann Cochran, passed away peacefully at home in Port Townsend, WA, with family and friends by her side on June 6th, 2021. She was buried at Laurel Grove cemetery, Port Townsend, WA.
Elizabeth was born to Mary and Jim Cochran in Duluth, Minnesota on June 11, 1952. She attended Denfeld High School. Later, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Minnesota.
Elizabeth attended the Defense Language Institute, Monterey, California studying Spanish. She received the Maxwell D. Taylor award for Excellence, achieving the highest score at the school in 1977.
She met Kent Turner, a Navy pilot, in 1977, and they were married at the Monterey Post Graduate School, Monterey on July 28th, 1977.
Kent and Elizabeth moved to Venezuela in December, 1977 where Kent was an exchange pilot for the Venezuelan Air Force. Elizabeth served as teacher while there, and also became famous as the first woman to ever earn Venezuelan Paratrooper Wings, having gone through the same training as every airborne soldier.
Elizabeth moved to New Orleans with Kent in 1979, where she wrote advertising copy, served to find and place executives, and was an avid runner and triathlete.
She moved to Rota, Spain, where her son, Colin, was born in 1983. She and Kent traveled extensively, including bicycling through the mountains and participating in the running of the bulls.
After Rota, she moved to Camarillo, Ca, where she became a reporter for the LA Times, a job where she excelled, specializing in feature stories.
She later moved to New Jersey and became a reporter for the largest newspaper there, the Asbury Park Press. In 1988, her daughter, Kendall was born.
After New Jersey, Elizabeth moved to Bremerton, Washington, while Kent was at sea. After Kent retired from the Navy in 1993, she moved with her family to Bainbridge Island.
There she earned a Masters in Social Work from the University of Washington. She set up her own office on Bainbridge as a psychotherapist where she supported adults, families and children.
She founded the Bodhi Center on Bainbridge Island, a retreat space for healing, movement, yoga and meditation. It blossomed into an international venue for healers and teachers from all over the world. Elizabeth was a connector, a leader by example, and embodied loving-kindness. She had a deep heart, an adventurous spirit and an incredibly rich spiritual life. Her love radiated out to everyone she came in contact with. Through her work and service, Elizabeth helped hundreds of people find healing in their lives.
Elizabeth and her husband moved to Port Townsend in 2019 where she lived out her final days enjoying the company of family and friends. Even through her six-year battle of living with illness, Elizabeth continued to seek the nectar in each moment with gratitude, grace, and joy. Elizabeth’s memory will be cherished eternally by all those who have known her.
There will be a memorial service at Kiana Lodge, 14976 Sandy Hook Rd, Poulsbo, WA, September 19, 2021,
2PM - 6PM.
She is survived by her brother Michael Cochran, Michael’s wife, Diane Cochran, her husband Kent Turner, her son Colin Turner, Colin’s wife Daina Turner, her daughter Kendall Mann and husband Nick Mann, and her grandchildren Emilija Turner and George Mann.
