Mattie Teresa Turpin Harlan

Mattie Teresa Turpin Harlan entered heaven on Friday, December 9, 2011; she was 92 years old. Teresa was born to Thomas Nelson Turpin and Mattie Parks Turpin on November 17, 1919 in her family home in Big Island, Virginia. She was the fourth of five children. Teresa grew up in Big Island where she learned to love the outdoors and \"her\" mountains. She could be found riding her bike, collecting rocks, swimming in the creek, and swinging on ropes across the James River. Although a veritable tomboy, she always wore dresses or skirts. She played high school sports and graduated from M.E. Marcuse High School in 1936.   She attended Lynchburg College, where she played basketball and field hockey. In 1940 she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History. The year after college Teresa taught third grade at Boonsboro Elementary School. She then began a career in social work in Buckingham County. There she met and courted Edward Ellet Harlan, a member of the armed forces from Powhatan County. They were married in Richmond in 1944. Teresa gave birth to the first of two children, Frances Teresa Harlan Sherfey, in 1946 while still in Powhatan.   The family moved to Fayetteville, NC where Edward began working for the Veteran\"™s Administration. Teresa gave birth to her second child, Thomas Edward Harlan, in 1950. She then began what was a long and productive career as a K-12 classroom teacher. She taught across the curriculum with her love being language arts. The family moved to Atlanta, GA and then to Carmel, IN where Edward continued to work for the Veteran\"™s Administration and Teresa teaching. In 1966, she earned a Master\"™s degree in counseling from Butler University. Husband Edward retired in 1972 after serving the U.S. Federal Government for 35 years. Teresa was a resourceful woman. One of her hobbies and passions was to go to auctions and antique stores to find unlikely treasures waiting to be refinished and made beautiful by her own hands.   With children grown, Teresa and Edward moved back to her childhood home in Big Island to care for her aging mother. Teresa continued to teach fourth grade and seventh grade in Bedford County at Otter River Elementary School until she retired in 1979.  Teresa was a strong, Christian woman, who was a long-time member of Big Island Baptist Church. She taught Sunday school to her peers and served faithfully as a deacon for many years. She was a true prayer warrior and a matriarch of faith. Her role as mama, grandma, and great-grandma was her greatest joy. She loved ferociously and gave endlessly to her family and those she loved. Her presence and her house was a sacred and magical home to six grandchildren, where warm Grandma rolls and love always awaited. Teresa is preceded in death by her parents, Thomas and Mattie Turpin; husband, Edward Ellet Harlan; brothers, Louis Parks Turpin, Thomas \"Ray\" Turpin, Thomas Nelson Turpin, Jr. and sister, Frances Turpin Padget. She is survived by a daugther, Frances Sherfey and former son-in-law, Ray Sherfey and their children, Joshua Sherfey (Shannon), Sarah Sherfey, Elizabeth Sherfey Weed (Eric); a son, Thomas Harlan and wife, Mary Lowry Harlan; additional grandchildren, Mara Lowry, Margaret Lowry, Sean Harlan (Alexis), Abigail Harlan, and Chelsea Harlan; great-grandchildren; Brent, Jaden, and Carter Harlan; and former daughter-in-law, Maggy Lyle. Services will be held at Big Island Baptist Church on Sunday, December 11, 2011 at 2:00 p.m and will be followed by a graveside service at Greenwood Cemetery off Longwood Avenue in Bedford.  Tharp Funeral Home, Bedford, is assisting the family, 540-586-3443.