Nedra Jones Turnow

Nedra Jones Turnow, 93, passed away peacefully in her home in Washington, PA on November 30, 2025. Nedra was born on August 9, 1932 in Cameron, WV to Harry Lee Jones and Nelle Coral Hinerman. She was the 8th of Harry and Nelle’s 14 children.

Nedra attended Cameron High School and in 1950, she married and moved to Washington, PA where she would raise her four children: Gary Swart of Washington, PA; Marilyn Swart of Vincent, OH; Sandra Lahew of Rogersville, PA; and Jeffrey (Lisa) Swart of Washington, PA. For the next 20 years, she worked various waitressing jobs at restaurants such as Angelo’s, Stax Cafeteria, The Brown Derby and Howard Johnson’s. Her attention to detail and energetic personality made her a great waitress and a customer favorite.

While serving him dinner during a shift at Howard Johnson’s, she met the love of her life, the late William “Bill” Turnow and his son (her step-son), Billy. Nedra and Bill fell in love and married in 1971. Unlike Nedra, Bill was a man of few words. He was the calm to her chaos, the gentle quiet to her big personality, and proof that sometimes, opposites really do attract. Her life changed dramatically when she met Bill and for the first time, she found the security she needed to truly enjoy it. The two of them loved to travel, go camping and enjoyed visiting places like Atlantic City. They were in a square dance club, played volleyball and badminton, bowled in several leagues, and enjoyed the card game, Blitz. Nedra, Bill and their cat, Rascal, eventually retired and moved to Aleppo, PA in Greene County where they enjoyed a quiet, country lifestyle. They both had a love of nature and enjoyed gardening, bird watching, and walking in the woods on their property. They would eventually share their love of the outdoors with their grandchildren and even planted a tree for each and every one of them. Nedra and Bill lived in Aleppo from 1978 until 1991 and she would often say, “those were the happiest years of my life.”

Nedra enjoyed learning and took several different classes over the years such as cake decorating, sewing, and ceramics. She loved listening to Patsy Cline, Brenda Lee, Mickey Gilly and Elvis. Over the past several years, she spent the first hour of everyday listening to music on her Alexa and you could find her listening to “White Christmas” in the middle of June.

In addition to her many hobbies, Nedra loved being a grandmother and had a way of making everything feel fun and exciting. From finding and pressing leaves, to teaching them penny poker and BINGO, to sitting and talking by candlelight with a glass of eggnog or a Shirley Temple, she knew how to be a grandma. She was known as “Grandma Turnow” to 12 grandchildren: Tonya (Darrell) Sayre; Holly (Michael) Thompson; Dana (Ryan) Keevan; Gary (Amy) Swart, Jr.; Christopher (Suzie) Swart; Tracy Lahew; Jodi (Tony) Mega; Stephanie (Jason) Ruscello; Brittany (Billy) Swart; Nicholas Swart; Carrie (Clay) Schwartz; and Judson (Lexi) Swart. Additionally, she had 15 great-grandchildren and six great-great-grandchildren.

She is also survived by: two brothers, Vern (Patty) and Ronnie (Darlene); two sisters, Madelon Robinson and Lorna Sue Snyder; and sisters-in-law, Barbara and Lynne Jones.

Nedra was preceded in death by: her husband, Bill Turnow; her step-son, William (Billy) Turnow, Jr.; a grandson, Nicholas Swart; brothers, Gerald, Carroll, Edwin, Bobby, Alan, and Dean; and her sisters, Kathlyn Bennett, Evelyn Anderson, and Carolyn Jones.

The family would like to express heartfelt gratitude to her caregivers, Denise, Heather, Kristine, Brooke, and Mary. Without you, Nedra wouldn’t have been able to live out her days at home, where she felt comfortable and safe.

A celebration of life will be held on Wednesday, December 10, 2025 from 9-11 AM at Kesterson-Rush Funeral Home, LLC. 3275 W. Roy Furman Hwy. PO Box 434 Rogersville, PA 15359. Telephone: 724-499-5181, where a funeral service will be held directly after with Pastor Gary Crawford, officiating.

Please view and sign the online tribute wall at www.kestersonfh.com.