Carla Jill Turner, of Larkspur, Colorado, died suddenly June 28, 2017, at the age of 55, from complications resulting from her hardfought battle with breast cancer. Carla was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, she is the daughter of Jimmy D. and Carol G. Sanner Turner. She attended elementary schools in Oklahoma City and Denver prior to the family’s move to Dill City, Oklahoma. Carla graduated from Dill City High School in 1980, sharing valedictory honors with her good friend Dee Ann Long (now Wellander). She then attended Southwestern Oklahoma State University and Oklahoma State University, where she graduated in 1984. After attending Tulane School of Law for a year, which prompted her to relinquish law studies in favor of following her true passion, Carla began a career largely spent working with youth, including positions with Youth Who Care in Grand Junction, Colorado; Shadow Mountain Institute in Tulsa, Oklahoma; Larimer County Youth Services Bureau and Colorado State University, both in Fort Collins, Colorado; and Douglas County Youth Initiative in Castle Rock, Colorado, where Carla was instrumental in the development of youth programs such as Douglas County WrapAround and Douglas County Youth Congress. Most recently, Carla served as the Executive Director of Coloradans for Alternatives for the Death Penalty. Later in July, the Board of this organization will honor Carla with the Abolitionist of the Year award at their annual dinner. Carla’s volunteer work spanned her diverse interests, as she served as an Aids Quilt Grief Counselor, course marshal at road races, and a judge at BBQ contests, as well as volunteering with numerous organizations and projects, including Hospice of Larimer County, Audubon Christmas Bird Count, Colorado Bluebird Project, Larimer County Parks and Open Space, CSUnity Day of Volunteerism, CSU food drive Cans Around the Oval, Job Corps transition, Volunteers in Service to America, and Douglas County Partners. Carla is survived by her mother, Carol Turner, of Williamsburg, Virginia; brother and sister-in-law, Christopher Turner and Seunghye Lim, of Nicosia, the island of Cyprus; sister and brother-in-law, Kim and Richard Barnes, of Flower Mound, Texas; her two nephews and niece; and many aunts, uncles, and cousins, as well as a large caring circle of supportive and loving friends and co-workers. In honor and memory of Carla, please consider a donation to any of the causes she supported, including death penalty abolition, juvenile justice, breast cancer research, and birds and other wildlife.