MarionTURNER(nee Armstrong) was born in Low Fell in the dark wartime days of 1941. From an early age she was determined to make her own way in the world. After secretarial training, Marion rapidly gained experience in several posts then gravitated towards lifelong employment at Newcastle University. She was very well mentored in the Physics Department and her obvious human skills gave her the opportunity, in the early 1970s, to become Personal Assistant to Sir James Baddiley, head of the Chemistry Department. On the retirement of Sir James, Marion entered the School of Agriculture and progressed through situations of increasing responsibility until her retirement at the millennium. Throughout her time at the University, she ran popular lunch-time physical activities, including forced marches on the Town Moor! At heart a city girl, Marion became increasingly involved in outdoor pursuits with her partner, Clive Turner, who taught linguistics at Gateshead College. In consort with a former Physics PhD student, Ernie Hailwood and his wife, Viv, the foursome became competent rock climbers, though Marion was usually insistent on warm south-facing slopes! Such was Marion’s enthusiasm for her new sport, that she drove her diminutive Fiat 500 to Skye and back for a rock-climbing course. However, the Lake District was a more accessible venue, despite the variable climate. On a particularly foul day, Marion and Clive Turner sought refuge in a hired caravan at Setmabanning Farm, Threlkeld. This started a lasting involvement with the village of Threlkeld, nestling beneath the slopes of Blencathra, or Saddleback as it’s known locally. A permanent static caravan on the farm ensured regular visits and Marion rapidly became integrated into Threkeld life, earning the affectionate and enduring label ‘Geordie Girl’. A natural party girl, Marion was a popular participant in village functions, over many years, never missing a chance to display her trademark dancing skills. With Kenny Atkinson, Marion monitored the rain gauges in the Hellvelyn area for a number of years and was a volunteer at the Theatre by the Lake in Keswick. She completed several long-distance Lakeland mountain marathons to raise money for charities, including cancer research. In the year 2000, Marion lost her partner, Clive, but rekindled a friendship with a former colleague in the Chemistry Department, David Minnikin, who had just lost his wife, Megan. A mutual interest hill-walking, resulted in a trip to the foothills of Annapurna in Nepal and helping David complete the ascent of all the 3000 feet Scottish mountains, the Munros. A translocation of David’s research group from Newcastle to the University of Birmingham lead to the purchase of a house in Threlkeld and the static caravan on the farm was sold in 2007. In the midst of climbing all the Lakeland peaks, known as Wainwrights, Marion and David were taking lunch on Blake Fell, Loweswater, when it was mentioned that the date was 8/8/2008 and many Chinese wished to get married at such an auspicious time. In apparent jest, Marion proposed emergency (999) marriage on 9/9/2009. This became reality when an unexpected letter arrived for David in Threlkeld, from the Penrith Registrar, confirming the date and demanding £45! An idyllic honeymoon was spent in the old railway carriages at Glenfinnan station on the West Highland Line. For well over a decade, Marion split her life between Threlkeld and Tyneside. On Mondays to Wednesdays, Marion was in Newcastle and David was at the University of Birmingham, with a reunion in Threlkeld during the rest of the week. A creature of habit, on Mondays Marion met one set of friends at lunchtime and others in early evening. Daytime Tuesdays involved trips from Ponteland with the local Cycling UK club, followed by evenings playing her whistle in the Redheughers ceilidh band in Gateshead. On Wednesdays, Marion was a prominent member of the Tyneside Ramblers, walking all over the north of England and into Scotland. On the way to Threlkeld on Thursdays, she stopped off in Penrith for U3A music in the mornings and U3A table tennis in the afternoons. If climatic conditions were favourable, Marion would also enjoy excursions with the Penrith Ramblers on Saturdays and join the Sunday Tyneside Ramblers if they were in Lakeland. As an escape from such a rigid timetable, multiple campervan holidays were taken with David in Scotland, Ireland and Northern France for yet more walking and cycling. During the past five winters, Marion spent 5 to 6 weeks with Penrith-based KWA Walking Holidays in Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife and she also went to Southern Europe for cycling holidays and folk music festivals. All this activity came to a shuddering halt this year, with March lock-down in Threlkeld. However, the wonderful spring weather allowed daily morning walks and Marion had afternoon rides on her new electric bike. With the relaxation of restrictions in July, campervan trips were taken to Beadnell and the Isle of Skye, after which Marion had some aches and tiredness. Nevertheless, in early August she completed long circuits of Skiddaw and Blencathra on her bike. However, tests and scans gave a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer in mid-September. After a rapid decline, Marion passed away on 1st November 2020 in the Cumberland Infirmary, Carlisle, aged 79. During her short illness, the leader of the Redheughers ceilidh band, Robin Dunn, composed and recorded a special tribute that he named ‘Marion’s Tune’. Similarly, old friend Ernie Hailwood recorded ‘A Song for Marion’, extolling her virtues and individualities. Marion Turner lit up all occasions with her good humour and, occasionally inflexible, common sense take on life; she will be sorely missed.
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