Karleen Turnbull

1939 - 2023

Resident of Palo Alto

After several years of struggling with multiple health issues, Karleen Turnbull passed away on January 31, 2023 at age 83. Born in Utah, she lived most of her life in the San Francisco Bay Area, including the last 56 years in Palo Alto. Karleen is survived by Gregory Turnbull, her husband for 59 years, son Braden (Wendy) Turnbull and daughter Kathryn Turnbull (Michael) McGowan, and grandchildren Caroline Turnbull, Kelsey Turnbull, Mallie McGowan and Erik McGowan, and a very special friend Nancy Mueller.

Karleen loved to travel, visiting many countries around the world in her twenties while she was working for United Air Lines as a stewardess (now termed a flight attendant). She met Greg on a blind date, and they married in 1964. After marriage she continued in a sales role with United, becoming a talented homemaker upon the arrival of her firstborn in 1967. Tennis became high on her list of passions, with many enjoyable hours (often accompanied by her children) spent playing on the courts at Foothills Tennis & Swim Club in Palo Alto. Annual vacation trips to Packer Lake in the Sierras were treasured. More world travel ensued thanks to invitations to join Nancy on cruises aboard her yacht Andiamo. Karleen fulfilled a long-standing desire to start a business capitalizing on her skills in home design and refurbishment, initially partnering with a local contractor in 1988 to purchase, renovate and resell single family residences. Subsequently she built one of the very early home-staging businesses (By Design) into a very successful enterprise, staging over 500 homes over a several year period. Karleen will be dearly missed by her family and friends. A celebration of her life is pending.