LAURIE TURNER DEWEY
Lincoln, MA - Laurie Turner Dewey, age 90, died peacefully at home in Lincoln, MA on May 19th, 2017 with family members present. Laurie was born on June 17, 1926 in Norwich, New York, to William Reed and Laurie Greene Turner.
Love of family, desire for world peace and enjoyment of art and music resonated throughout Laurie’s life. In 1948 after graduating from Connecticut College, she volunteered with the Unitarian Service Committee rebuilding an orphanage in Normandy, France, and later took to the road with a dear college friend. The two young women hitch-hiked throughout Europe where they were treated like American royalty. She came home wiser, speaking fluent French, and with a love of good cooking.
With a background in art and an additional degree in design, she worked in New York City starting her own interior design business with a great friend and business partner. Later, marriage brought a move to upstate New York, and she and Ned Dewey welcomed Laura, Reed, Janet and Elizabeth into their world and hearts.
Laurie spent years of her life working for a more peaceful world. Again, she was capable of the extraordinary. Her involvement with the Peace Development Fund led her to protest the Iran-Contra scandal outside CIA headquarters, which landed her in jail with hundreds of others. She was deeply committed to nonproliferation of nuclear weapons. Central in her life was her work with the Council for a Livable World.
For many years, Laurie served on the Board of Trustees of the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park. She was an artist in her own right, loved the arts, and was dedicated to the mission of the DeCordova. Laurie loved music and cherished her involvement in the First Parish Choir, singing in the soprano section year after year. Her occasional solos were beautiful gifts to the congregation.
Laurie had a strong kinship with the animals in her life, including her horses, dogs, and the blue birds which were drawn to the beautiful pasture behind the house she designed in Lincoln.
An activist at heart, Laurie was a long time member of the Lincoln Town Democratic Committee and often could be seen holding a sign of some kind at the polling place on an election day, or on a float in the Lincoln July 4th parades. A thoughtful friend, a gentle spirit and a hard-worker, she graced so many interests and passions throughout her long life. She will be missed by family, friends and colleagues.
Laurie was predeceased by her daughter Laura Stratton Dewey and is survived by her three other children, Reed Turner Dewey (Washington, DC), Janet Russell Dewey (Austin, TX) and Elizabeth D. Levey (Fayston, VT). She is also survived by five grandchildren, and several treasured nieces.
In lieu of flowers, contributions in her memory may be made to the Council for a Livable World, or the affiliated Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, a tax exempt non-profit organization.
A celebration of her life is planned for Friday, June 9, 2017 at 11 a.m. at the First Parish in Lincoln, 14Bedford Rd., Lincoln, MA
To share a memory or offer a condolence visit: www.concordfuneral.com.