Carol "Charest" Turza

Mammy’s Obituary

“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.”

—Psalm 42:1

Carol Turza (née Marshall, formerly known as Carol Charest) passed away at 6:49 PM on Friday, September 13, 2024. She is survived by her husband, Mike Turza; two daughters, Tina Charest and Teri Turza; her dog, Timmy; and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Known as Ms. Charest to hundreds of students and Mammy to her grandchildren, Carol’s love and light live on through the many lives she touched in her time on this earth.

Born on December 8, 1942, to Chester and Mildred Marshall in Lancaster, New Hampshire, Carol Jean Marshall was the youngest of five children by 13 years. Her siblings, who have all passed, were Lillian, Rodney, Ruth, and Wayne Marshall.

As a child, Carol was adventurous and curious. She would explore the family farm with her dog Fritz, who could always find her or lead her back home. Once, when she was only a few years old, she wandered through the woods and to the sugar house where her father worked. She loved telling this story and would always add how she loved the smell of the maple syrup being made or how she’d drink sap straight from the bucket—bugs and all.

When she was five, her family moved into town so she could attend a larger school rather than the one-room schoolhouse her siblings had attended.

During her teenage years, Carol spent summers taking swimming lessons at the town pool, and winters ice skating downtown or sledding down Bunker Hill Street. She also loved to go out dancing with her girlfriends—her favorite was the jitterbug.

After high school, Carol moved to Concord, where she studied business at Concord Commercial College and worked as a keypunch operator. She found employment at the Farm Bureau office before relocating to Manchester, where she met her first husband, Gordon Charest, Jr. They married and moved to Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, where Gordon had enlisted in the Army. They spent a year in Karlsruhe, Germany, before moving to Columbus, Georgia, and eventually Orlando, Florida, to be near Carol’s parents who had been spending the winters in Mount Dora. Carol enrolled in night classes at Rollins College and got a job at Martin Company (now Martin Marietta).

At 27, Carol welcomed her first daughter, Tina, on February 8, 1970. Her second daughter, Teri, was born on July 30, 1971. The family moved to St. Petersburg, Florida, where Carol and Gordon got involved in the Open Pantry gas station franchise, which later became Get and Go. They eventually settled in New Port Richey, where Carol lived for nearly fifty years.

Not long before Carol and Gordon divorced in 1980, she started teaching at Elfers Elementary School, which was later renamed Mittye P. Locke Elementary. She taught 6th grade, then 4th, before finding her place in 3rd grade, which she taught for the last twenty years of her career till she retired from Pasco County Schools in 2005. Her students will remember her as Ms. Charest.

Carol became a grandmother on November 8, 1989, with the birth of Teri’s first son, Joshua Flagg. Teri soon had two more children, Paul Flagg, Jr., in 1991 and Stephanie Flagg in 1994. Carol often reminisced about their trips to New Hampshire, Maine, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia. Her family continued to grow when Teri married Michael Turza, Sr., in 2001, adding his son, Michael Turza, Jr., to the growing list of grandchildren, followed by Tina’s son, Jason Heath, in 2002.

Carol married her second husband, Mike Turza, on July 19, 2003. Together, they enjoyed traveling, gardening, kayaking, putting together puzzles, and remodeling their home. They spent much of their retirement volunteering countless hours at their church, where Carol helped organize social events, played piano, and sang in the choir as part of the praise team. A devout Christian, she loved Jesus and was a lifelong churchgoer.

Carol enjoyed watching the birds and squirrels in her backyard, reminiscing with family, and teaching her children and grandchildren to play cribbage. She watched General Hospital every day for the last forty years of her life. She loved decorating for Christmas. And pink was her favorite color. A true New Englander, some of her favorite things were lighthouses, covered bridges, common loons, and all things maple.

Always an animal lover, Carol found companionship in many pets throughout her life, including dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters, birds, and at one point a baby possum her daughters rescued as young girls. Timmy, Ginger, Misty, Muffin, Sam, Tiggs, Friskey, and Dusty, among many others. They were all her babies, which she cherished deeply.

We remember Carol with so much love and are blessed to have shared this life with her. We hope you will share your memories of Carol with us so that we can know how she has touched your life.