Elizabeth Ann Pruitt-Turcotte

On July 4th, 1965, Betty Joyce Kanell Pruitt and Thomas Lewis Pruitt welcomed Elizabeth Ann to their family. She was a smiling, sweet baby with a strong spirit and soon became the light of their lives.

Elizabeth spent her babyhood in the family’s home on Peach Street, next to Pruitt Paint and Glass, where her parents and grandparents worked. When she was a toddler, the family moved to the house on Memorial Drive, where Elizabeth grew up and her mother still lives. She attended Mount Zion Lutheran School for grades 1-3 and O’Neal Elementary for grades 4-6. She also grew up in the First Baptist Church, where she sang in the choir and she was active in the Girl Scouts. She enjoyed dance lessons, played on a soft-ball team, and loved camping out. As Elizabeth got older, she often spent time with her family swimming on Lake Norfolk, riding motorbikes at Lake Wappapello, or enjoying large family gatherings at both her grandmothers’ houses, laughing with her many cousins, eating and playing games.

During her high school years, Elizabeth was active in COE and worked at Lucy Lee Hospital as a dietician. Elizabeth was also musically inclined. She could play the piano, and she played the alto sax in the Sho-Me Marching Band. In 1982, she traveled with the state champion band to perform at the Super Bowl in Florida. She graduated from Poplar Bluff High School in 1984. After graduation, she studied to become real estate broker, and after getting her license, sold real estate for Century 21 for several years. In addition, from 1981 on, Elizabeth could often be found helping her mother at The Bee Hive. Elizabeth also enjoyed many social activities and being active in the community. In 1991, she was named Girl of the year for the Xi Delta Xi chapter of Beta Sigma Phi, of which she was a lifetime member. Elizabeth’s life long hobbies included cooking, reading, and gardening.

In 1979, Elizabeth was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, but her indomitable spirit was never damped by her illness. Elizabeth survived two double-transplant surgeries, and over the course of 37 years, she volunteered to be part of clinical trials where cutting-edge medical technology was being developed to improve the lives of diabetics. In 1996, she was the first person to use the new Low Vision Enhancement System being developed at John Hopkins, and she was patient number 42 to receive the new AccuCheck insulin level checker when it was first created. Elizabeth also attended the Richmond School for the Blind to learn braille and how to live her life independently. She was a fighter and refused to allow her medical condition to prevent her from doing what she loved.

In 1993, Elizabeth traveled to Virginia Beach, Virginia to visit a friend. She liked the area so much that she decided to move there. She settled in and began work as the head chef at Time Out, a local food establishment.

In 1998, Elizabeth married the love of her life, Jason Turcotte, a native Rhode Islander. Jason worked as a Naval Avionics Technician and although he was often out at sea, they developed a special bond. Jason and Elizabeth enjoyed traveling and spending time together at home when he was not on duty. They were active members of the VFW in Virginia Beach, and they also shared a love for landscape gardening. Together, they spent many hours working in their yard, tending trees, bushes, and flowers. Jason retired after 20 years of Naval service, and last year, the couple bought a house near her mother and moved to Poplar Bluff. With them, they brought their dog, Buttons, whom they had have for 17 years.

Elizabeth was preceded in death by her paternal grandparents, Marjorie Bascom Pruitt and Lewis Franklin Pruitt, by her maternal grandparents, Iva Gladis Walker Kanell and John William Kanell and by her brother, Lewis F. Pruitt, III, and his son, Thomas Lewis Pruitt, II. She is survived by her husband, Jason, of the home, her mother, Betty Pruitt, her father, Tom Pruitt, and by three grandnieces and nephews, Alanah Jo, Thomas Lewis, and Tommi Lynn of Iona, Minnesota, by her in-laws Harry and Judy Turcotte of Palm Bay, Florida, and very many aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Visitation will be held Thursday, Nov. 3rd from 6:00 to 8:00 pm at Cotrell Funeral Chapel. The funeral will be Friday, Nov. 4th beginning at 10:00 am in the funeral chapel with interment at Fairdealing Cemetery following the service. Dr. William Vail and the Rev. Jim Schremp will officiate.

Serving as pallbearers are Lenard Browning, David Davidson, Ashley Kanell, Lee Kanell, Michael Mansker, and James Burkett.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to the National Kidney Foundation, 1001 Craig Road, Ste. 480, St. Louis, MO 63146 or to the Missouri School for the Blind, 3815 Magnolia Ave., St. Louis, MO 63110.