Mary Kathleen Turkington

     Mary Kathleen Turkington of Denton, MD, passed away on Friday, June 20, 2025, at the University of MD Medical Center in Baltimore, MD. She was 91 years old.

     Born on March 25, 1934, in Needham, MA, Mary was the daughter of the late Harry Avard Gates and Amy Vivian Hatfield Gates. Her husband, Harry Albert Turkington, passed away in 2007. Mary had been a Pastor’s secretary at the Tremont Temple Baptist Church in Boston (where she met her future husband, Harry) and later was a clerk-typist for Social Services in Denton and Easton, MD. For 24 years, she was the Clerk and Treasurer for the Town of Denton, retiring in 1996. She belonged to the St. Luke’s Methodist Church, the Municipal Clerk’s Association, and volunteered with the Cancer Center (retiring on her 90th birthday), as well as with Compass Hospice. In addition, she was a Sunday School teacher at St. Luke’s for over 30 years and served as the chairperson or member of most boards at St. Luke’s, as well as the Children’s Choir Director. She was a friend and a helping hand to many.

     Mary is survived by two daughters, Kathleen Todd (Roger) of Newark, DE, and Patricia McPeake (David) of Wilmore, KY; six grandchildren: Dallas Lister, Robert Lister (Zsofia), Steven Todd (Kimberlee), Laura Hannagan, Charles Hannagan, Lisa Rice, Roger Rice, and Philip Todd (Maura); six great-grandchildren, Ethan and Teagan Lister, Nathan D’Orlando, Jane Rice, Eleanor Hannagan and Warren Todd; and a sister-in-law, Ann Gates. In addition to her husband and parents, she was preceded in death by a brother, Rev. Ronald H. Gates (Ann) of N. Augusta, GA; a sister, Harriet Brinkerhoff (Bob) of Hartford City, IN; a brother, Laurence Gates, and a sister, Beatrice Gates.

     A viewing/visitation will be held from 5 PM until 7 PM on Monday, June 30th, at St. Luke’s Methodist Church located at 100 S. Fifth Ave. in Denton, MD, where a funeral service will also be held at 11 AM on Tuesday, July 1st. The interment will be private.

     If friends wish to send donations in memory of Mary, her family suggests sending them to: Cancer Center at UM Shore Regional Health, 509 Idlewild Ave., Easton, MD 21601; or Compass Hospice, 255 Comet Dr., Centreville, MD 21617.

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