Ursula Elsa Turner

Ursula Elsa Louise Eggert Turner, 90, passed away peacefully on April 8, 2026 in Ankeny, Iowa.

Funeral services will be held at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 14, 2026 at Dahn Woodhouse Funeral Home, 307 Idaho Street, Glidden, Iowa.

The family will greet guests from 12:30 p.m. – 1:15 p.m., prior to the service on Saturday at the funeral home. Interment will be at Glidden Cemetery, following the service.

Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the Dahn and Woodhouse Funeral Home in Glidden and online condolences may be left for the family at www.dahnandwoodhouse.com

In lieu of flowers memorials are suggested for Suncrest Hospice or Peace Lutheran Church Quilters.

Ursula was born on June 11, 1935 in Berlin, Germany to Willi and Hildegard Eggert. Ursula grew up in Berlin and worked as a professional seamstress, a talent she continued to share her entire life, frequently gifting cherished quilting projects and other items to friends and family.

Ursula met the love of her life, Douglas Turner while he was serving with the United States Army, stationed in Berlin, Germany. They began dating and continued throughout Douglas’s tour in Germany. They became engaged shortly before his tour ended. After Douglas’s discharge from the Army, he worked and saved enough money to bring Ursula to the United States to be with him. Ursula arrived from Germany by ship in 1958 and Douglas and his parents drove to Ellis Island New York to pick her up and bring her to her new home. They were married soon after her arrival in June of 1958 in Glidden, Iowa where they made their home and raised their two children. Ursula lived in Glidden until March of 2025 at which time she moved to Ankeny, Iowa to be closer to her family.

Ursula enjoyed being a member of the Peace Lutheran Church Quilters Club in Glidden and rarely missed a quilters club luncheon. Every year she would proudly report to her family the total number of quilts the club completed and gifted to local charities.

Ursula was also a talented cook and baker. Her famous Christmas sugar cookies with almond flavored icing were stockpiled, sneakily hidden in secret places, and fought over by family members, bringing a quiet grin to Grandma’s face. There was never enough of those cookies no matter how many dozen she made!

Ursula kept physically active until she was 89, frequently walking around Glidden and her neighbors would frequently see her out for her walks around town.

Ursula’s most favorite pastime was spending time with her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She was frequently invited to join in on family vacation travels with both her children and their families. If you visited with Ursula for longer than five minutes you were guaranteed to have to endure hearing the latest stories or view the latest pictures of her family that she would proudly pull out of her purse or off the wall of her house.

Ursula never wanted to be the center of attention but enjoyed visiting with her friends and family. She had an infectious laugh and a distinctive warm German accent, which she could not hear in her own voice – frequently asking family members, “do I really have an accent?” Ursula always looked on the bright side of life. Ursula was fiercely independent, but always appreciative of anything anyone did for her as well. She was a kind and caring person who always asked about people and delighted in visits and calls from everyone she knew. On phone calls you were always greeted with the same question in a very cheerful German accent, “Any news?”

Ursula is survived by her children, Kurt (Shari) Turner of Ankeny, Iowa and Denise (Dean) Smith of Des Moines, Iowa; grandchildren, Whitney (Dave) Kolbe of Ankeny, Iowa, and A.J. (Baylie) Turner of Ogden, Utah; and great-grandchildren, Chase and Charlie Kolbe and Chloe Goucher-Turner. Ursula is also survived by her sister-in-law, Sherry (Larry) Gartin of Ankeny Iowa, nieces, nephews and many close family friends.

Ursula was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Douglas Turner, her parents and an infant sister.