Celebrating the life of Jane Turk
By Emily Rasmussen
St. Paul , MN- Jane Elizabeth Turk was a woman of many accomplishments. From her undergraduate at Macalester College in Saint Paul Minnesota, to her dissertation on public broadcasting in the U.S., she used her perfectionism and everlasting curiosity to live her life to the fullest.
Turk, 30, died unexpecetedly on Tuesday night, and is survived by her father, Louis Turk; her mother, Carolyne Turk; younger sister, Lindsey Turk; and partner Brendan Themes.
The Normandale Community College Communications instructor had an extensive and impressive resume. Aside from her undergrad, she also had a master's degree in communications from Columbia University, was all but disseration (ABD) with her doctoral program at Columbia, and was a member of the “Society of Cinema in Media Studies.” She was also a published writer, writing articles and book reviews in scholarly articles such as a book review in “News Media and Society”.
Some of her other hobbies included video games, watching documentaries, and reading for pleasure.
The service to celebrate Turk’s life will take place on Thursday, Sept. 23, at 5 p.m., at the Lake Harriet bandshell. Turk always spoke to her friends and family about her fond memories there from her childhood. “Her and her family went to concerts there when she was young; they would go there and eat ice cream cones on the dock.” Themes said. The song “Ghosts” by “Cut Copy” will be played at the service, as they were one of Turk’s favorite bands.
In lieu of plants or flowers, the family is asking that donations be made to “Free Press” (you can do this by going to www.freepress.net). “Free Press and education were so important to Jane,” Younger sister, Lindsey said. “The quote she lived by was, “never stop learning”, thinking about it now, I think we should all live by this. With learning comes learning about all the things life has to offer us. It didn’t really click with me until now. I think we all could learn a thing or two from Jane.”
