Faythe Elaine Turner

Faythe Elaine Turner, age 86, of Amherst, Massachusetts, passed away peacefully on September 6, 2024, surrounded by her children and grandchildren. Born on July 23, 1938, in Port Clinton, Ohio, Faythe led a life rich in music, education, and community engagement.

When Faythe was 4 years old she lost her father who was killed in a traffic accident. Faythe was the daughter of George Duffy, a labor litigator. Her mother Inez, then had to assume the role of family breadwinner. She opened the Avalon Club in Port Clinton and subsequently ran tourist cabins that catered to summer visitors to Lake Erie.

With her mother’s encouragement, Faythe began a lifetime passion for music beginning with the accordion, later switching to piano due to back problems. She played trumpet in the high school marching band and performed with the Amherst Community Band for over two decades during the last 25 years of her life. She was also a mainstay in a modern jazz ensemble.

She pursued her education at Denison University, where she followed her sister Dolores and met her husband, Frederick Turner. They married in 1959 and later welcomed three children: Alexandra, Jessica, and Charles. Faythe graduated from Denison in 1960.

In 1961, the family relocated to Philadelphia, where Faythe worked in the alumni office at the University of Pennsylvania and later taught history at a high school in Bryn Mawr, PA. Their next move was to Rhode Island for Frederick’s teaching position at the University of Rhode Island. There, Faythe pursued graduate courses in English, earning her MA in English. She wrote her thesis on the short fiction of John Cheever. In 1967, the family moved to Amherst. It was there that Faythe completed her Ph.D., writing a thesis on Puerto Rican writers under the supervision of Jules Chametsky. Her Ph.D. thesis was later published in book form as Puerto Rican Writers at Home in the USA.

Subsequently, she taught in the English Departments at Nichols College and Greenfield Community College and was active in campus affairs in both places. Faythe was dedicated to civic engagement. She served on the Town Meeting in Amherst and chaired the Sister City Committee with La Paz Centro, Nicaragua. She also volunteered for voter registration efforts and delivered Meals on Wheels throughout Amherst until the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

She is survived by her children Alexandra (George Stewart), Jessica, Charles; grandchildren Nicholas Stewart, Jules Stewart, William Lewis, Guillaume Turner, and Antony Turner.

A memorial service will be held on April 18, 2025, in Amherst to celebrate Faythe's life and legacy. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Amherst Community Band or Meals on Wheels in her memory.