Augusta "Gussie" Turnbough

Augusta “Gussie” Marie Turnbough of Balmorhea, Texas departed this life on Monday, August 10, 2020 at 101 years of age. A celebration of her life will be at 11:00AM on Friday, August 14 at the Pecos Church of Christ, 1321 W. 4thSt., Pecos, TX. Burial to follow at Mt. Evergreen Cemetery. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic concerns, the family requests that the safety guidance measures be followed throughout these special observances.

Augusta Marie Jensen Turnbough, known to her grand and great-grandchildren as GiGi, was born on March 24, 1919 in the small village of Honnerup, Denmark to Anders and Martha Jensen.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Richard “Rip” Turnbough; her parents; her brother and sister-in-law Willie and Agnes Jensen; sister and brother-in-law Val and Harry Olsen; and by one grandson, Brett Winters.

Gussie is survived by her six children, Dennis Turnbough and Linda of San Antonio, Karen Smith and Dub of Lubbock, Cynthia Winters and Will Ed of Spicewood, Larry Turnbough and Melanie of Balmorhea, Debbie Vickers and Lonnie of Brady, Melanie Reed and Kenneth of Rocksprings, and a brother-in-law, David and wife Vi of Lubbock. GiGi is also survived by 19 grandchildren and 37 great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.

Gussie emigrated from Denmark to Canada in 1924. Her family later moved to Chicago, Illinois where Gussie lived until the home front effort to support WWII took her to Lincoln, Nebraska. Gussie was a supervisor for Western Electric, helping produce electronic equipment for the United States Military. Gussie met a young B-17 pilot-in-training, Rip Turnbough, in Lincoln. Following the war, the couple married in Lubbock, Texas on December 15, 1945. They moved to Balmorhea where Rip farmed cotton for 55 years and, together, they raised six children.

Gussie loved life and she loved her family. Gussie enjoyed swimming and in 1959 became a Red Cross water safety instructor, teaching hundreds of children in Reeves County to swim at the Balmorhea State Park San Solomon Springs. Gussie was an accomplished artist, and she avidly enjoyed reading, knitting and crocheting, blessing countless family members, friends, and a few hospitals with the gifts of her innumerable labors of love.

GiGi was a follower of Jesus and was a member of the Balmorhea Church of Christ. Her faith in a loving God and salvation through Jesus Christ was unyielding, up to the very moment the Father called her home.