Dorothy Melton

Dorothy Howes Turner Melton, 98, passed away peacefully with family by her side on September 23, 2022. Dorothy (Dot) was born in Ocala, FL on February 5, 1924, to Howard Alden Howes and Etta Cason Howes. She was the last surviving member of her family from "The Greatest Generation", the family Matriarch.

Dot spent her childhood in Ocala, FL, attending school there and helping in her parents' local grocery store. Her family later moved their business to Gainesville, FL. In 1940, at the age of 16, she graduated from Gainesville High School.

After high school, she was one of only two girls from Gainesville who were chosen to work for Southern Bell phone company at Camp Blanding in Starke, FL. She was working on the switchboard when Pearl Harbor was attacked. In 1943 she married Vernon Morton Turner Sr. That same year Vernon joined the Navy and served in WWII. While he was away, Dot worked in Washington D.C. as a switchboard operator, eventually returning to her family in Florida.
While continuing her role as a devoted wife and mother, she began a long successful banking career at the High Springs Bank. In 1986 she retired as the First Vice President/Comptroller of the Merchants & Southern Bank, Gainesville Banking Center.

Throughout her lifetime and in retirement she enjoyed traveling, dancing, playing piano, reading, needlework, puzzles and was a skilled seamstress. She was a member of various women's civic organizations and was a community volunteer: a Cub Scout den mother, Sunday School teacher and a classroom helper in a local elementary school.

Dot loved life and always lived it to the fullest. She loved people and had a way of making everyone she met feel special. She had a remarkable positive attitude, even in the face of adversity. She always lit up any room she entered and left a lasting impression on so many. She always put everyone else's feelings and comfort before hers. She had many accomplishments and passions during her long life; however, her greatest joy, without a doubt, was her family. She loved nothing more than spending time with her loved ones. She was a devoted mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. Granny Dot leaves an extraordinary legacy and will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved her.

A special thank you to her niece, Alexa Conway and nephews, Herbie Turner and Larry Conway for their faithful calls, visits, gifts, and cards through the years. The family would also like to thank the staff at Plantation Oaks, VITAS, and the 6th Floor NFRMC nurses who showed her care and compassion in her last days.

Dot is survived by her beloved son, Vernon Turner and his wife, Diane; her grandchildren Molly Turner Knox and Mac Turner; her great-grandchildren Bailey Turner, Lilly Knox, and Cameron Turner.

A graveside committal service will be held December 3, 2022, at 2:00 p.m., at the High Springs Cemetery.