Tamara Marie Turner, 52, of Waterloo, formerly of Delaware, Iowa, passed away at Mercy One in
Waterloo on Sunday, February 11, 2024, following a sudden illness. A Celebration of Life will be held at
11:30 a.m. on Saturday, February 17, 2024, at the First Presbyterian Church in Manchester with Pastor
Nathan Lamb officiating. Prior to the service, the family will greet friends from 10 -11:30 a.m., Saturday
at the church. Additional Celebrations of Tammy’s Life will be held at later dates.
Tammy was born August 9, 1971, in Manchester, Iowa, the daughter of Wayne and Connie (Weaver)
Turner of Manchester. She was a 1989 graduate of Maquoketa Valley High School and went on to receive
her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from the University of Northern Iowa. Her career as a
naturalist and environmental educator included years of outreach and youth engagement as a naturalist for
both Bremer and Black Hawk County Conservation Boards, an education specialist for the Waste Trac
Education Team of Black Hawk County, and as an environmental resource specialist with the Iowa
Northland Regional Council of Governments.
Tammy will long be remembered as a valuable resource for nature in Iowa thanks to her work on the
monarch butterfly tagging program and clean water advocate, community volunteer and as a local citizen
committed to a sustainable community for her friends and neighbors. Throughout her environmental
service jobs, she sparked a heightened awareness of the natural world around us and the importance of
waste reduction and composting. She demonstrated her values in both her work and her leisure time,
camping and hiking in natural areas throughout the Midwest, biking, gardening, and expressing her love
of nature in both her work and works of art. Many will remember her for her puppet shows, turning trash
into treasures and school/community programs spreading the importance of being a friend to our earth.
Tammy is survived by her parents, Wayne and Connie Turner of Manchester; sister, Tonya (Mike)
Meeter of Cedar Falls; nephews, Brad and Luke Mastin; aunts, Lois Turner, Marilyn Flick and Caryl
Wilson and her beloved cat, Zebby.
She was preceded in death by her grandparents, Walter and Bernice Turner and Cecil and Marian
Weaver; uncles, Gerald “Jerry” and Robert “Bob” Turner and aunts, Marilyn Foster and Maxine Sweatt.
Her decision to be an organ donor was honored through the Iowa Donor Network.
Please share a memory of Tammy at www.murdochfuneralhome.com under obituaries.
