Lornet Turnbull, an award-winning journalist with a rich career of story-telling, close friends around the world and an abiding love of nature and the outdoors, died of cancer on Jan. 11, her 59th birthday.
Her beloved husband Steve Haile was at her side in their Seattle home, surrounded by her sister, Lorna Turnbull, and niece LaToya Harrigan of St Thomas, USVI, and niece Sharriann Turnbull of Laurel, MD, and close family and friends.
Lornet is remembered as genuine, sincere, vibrant, determined and engaging, with a warm and beautiful smile.
Lornet was born and raised in the British Virgin Islands on the island of Tortola and spoke often of her warm childhood memories with family and friends.
After graduating with honors with a degree in journalism from Florida A&M University, Lornet went on to work as a reporter for newspapers in Lansing, Michigan; Columbus, Ohio and Akron, Ohio, before joining The Seattle Times in 2004. There, she covered immigration, homelessness, marriage equality and other high-profile issues. While she broke many front page news stories on her beat, her specialty was delving deeper into the lives of everyday people most affected by these highly-charged issues, writing about them with care, dignity and respect.
Lornet left The Times in 2014, later working as an editor for YES! magazine and freelancing for The Washington Post. Many of Lornet’s stories were instrumental in transforming individuals’ dire situations into positive outcomes.
Lornet was diagnosed with late-stage cancer in 2020, whereupon she began an intense and ongoing treatment regimen that sometimes slowed her, but did not quell her desire to explore life to the fullest. In the fall of 2021 she and Steve set out on a six week cross-country trip in a small motor home that Steve’s brother loaned them, visiting national parks, riding their e-bikes and striking up new friendships as they made their way to Maine and back. She wrote about their travels for The Washington Post and how pleased she and Steve were to meet so many kind strangers along the way, and is best quoted from that story, “I can close my eyes and travel back there in my mind, reabsorbing all that kindness and humanity we encountered on the road.” She had just completed a freelance story for REI three weeks before she died about her e-biking adventures with Steve.
Along with her husband, sister and nieces, Lornet is survived by stepchildren Megan (Gaelan Kelly) Haile of Seattle,WA, Ryan (Colette Simanello) Haile, of Oakland, CA, and Dylan (Kristin Rosa) Haile, of Santa Cruz, CA; sister Luette (Gary) Pless, of Atlanta, GA; brother Lawrence (Yvette) Turnbull, of St.Thomas, USVI; brothers Larren and Lendell Turnbull, and Irwin Smith of Tortola, BVI. Additionally, Lornet had a host of aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, great niece and step grandchildren.
A celebration of Lornet’s life is planned for February 19.
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