Marjorie Reitz Turnbull (born July 4, 1940) is an American politician who served as State Representative from
Florida's 9th district from November 8, 1994 until November 7, 2000. She previously served as a
Leon County Commissioner from 1988 until 1994.
Turnbull currently serves on the Board of Directors of Prime Meridian Bank.
Early life and education
Marjorie Reitz was born in
Madison, Wisconsin on July 4, 1940, to Frances H. (née Millikan) and
J. Wayne Reitz, who later served as
President of the University of Florida
Seventeen men have served as the president of the University of Florida since the modern university was created from the consolidation of four predecessor institutions by the Florida state legislature in 1905.
The University of Florida is a pub ...
. They moved to Florida in 1941.
Turnbull attended
Agnes Scott College
Agnes Scott College is a private women's liberal arts college in Decatur, Georgia. The college enrolls approximately 1,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The college is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church and is considered one of the ...
from 1958 until 1960, when she transferred to the
University of Florida, where she received her bachelor's degree in 1962. She later received her master's degree from the
University of Georgia in 1968.
Career
Turnbull then began working in the
Florida House of Representatives
The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...
as an assistant, eventually rising to the position of Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health Planning for the State of Florida in 1982. Turnbull was elected as a Leon County Commissioner in 1988 and served until 1994. She was chair of the Leon County Commission from 1991 to 1992.
In 1994, Turnbull was elected to the Florida House of Representatives for the 9th district, representing the northern suburbs of
Tallahassee. Turnbull was the first woman to be elected to the Florida House of Representatives from Leon County. While serving as a State Representative, Turnbull also served as Executive Director of
Tallahassee Community College. She served in this position from 1995 until her retirement in 2006.
Since her retirement, Turnbull has served in various executive positions, including as President of the
Challenger Center
Challenger Center for Space Science Education is a United States 501(c)(3) non-profit organization headquartered in Washington, DC. It was founded in 1986 by the families of the astronauts who died in the Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' disaster on ...
Board. She was also a member of the Board of Trustees for
Florida A&M University, and was on the boards of The Gadsden Arts Center, and the
United Way. Turnbull is currently President of the Economic Club of Florida, a member of the boards of
Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, the
Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, the Big Bend Hospice Foundation, and the Children's Home Society. Turnbull is also a Founding Director of Tallahassee's Prime Meridian Bank.
Personal life
Marjorie married Augustus Bacon Turnbull (b. 1940), Assistant Vice President of Academic Affairs for
Florida State University
Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...
, in 1965. They were married until his death from
lung cancer in 1991.
References
External links
Official Website of Marjorie Turnbull
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turnbull, Marjorie R.
University of Florida alumni
Women state legislators in Florida
Democratic Party members of the Florida House of Representatives
1940 births
Living people
Politicians from Madison, Wisconsin
Politicians from Tallahassee, Florida
University of Georgia alumni
Agnes Scott College alumni
21st-century American women