TURNER – Hilda V. Caldwell, 89, a lifelong resident of Turner, died unexpectedly Tuesday, Nov. 23, at her home.

She was born the eldest of seven children, on Aug. 5, 1915, in Turner, the daughter of George William and Etta Robinson Berry Varney. She attended Keen’s Mills Grammar School and was a 1935 graduate of Leavitt Institute.

On March 23, 1936, she married Lawrence Edwin Caldwell in Turner Center. They’ve made their home and raised their family on the Caldwell farm on North Parish Road. She was a farm lady in its finest sense. Her life was devoted to her husband and the growth and development of her family, in which she took great pleasure and pride.

Her next love was the farm itself, its land and buildings, cattle and horses. She did all she could for many years to help the family make a living and succeed. Her devotion as mother, grandmother and great-grandmother had a strong and positive impact on her family.

She was a member of the Turner Grange, the New England Holstein Association, the Holstein Association of America and the Mayflower Society as she was a descendant of pilgrim William Brewster. She had pride in her family’s roots and did extensive genealogical research documenting her ancestry.

She is survived by her husband of 68 years, Lawrence; two sons and their wives, Lawrence E. Jr. and Sandra Y. Caldwell, of Turner and Fort Meyers, Fla., and Ralph V. and Sandra R. Caldwell, of Turner; brother, George A. and his wife, Dorothy Varney, of Turner, brother, Charles H. Varney and his companion, Shirley Wing, of Greene; a brother-in-law, Albert Sennett, of Turner; sister-in-law, Shirley Varney, of Zephyrhills, Fla.; sister-in-law, Mavis Varney, of Turner; five grandchildren; and 12 great-grandchildren.

She was predeceased by brothers, Warren Varney, W. Sherman Varney and Paul B. Varney; sister, Hazel V. Sennett; a sister-in-law, Marguerite Varney; and a great-grandson, Tucker Dean Curtis.