The Voice was sad to hear of the passing, April 5, of Eleanore Turkington, longtime columnist and friend of the publication going back to its inception in May of 1997. As the founders of this newspaper had their journalistic roots in the heyday of Milford Citizen Publications in the 1980s, everyone knew and respected Eleanore.
An avuncular personality with a ready smile and sometimes caustic wit, she was a mainstay in the corporation’s circulation department, keeping track of the many Citizen publications. It was there she began her popular column, The Gripe Vine, which ran in the daily Milford Citizen and several of the weekly newspapers put out by the group, including the then-West Haven News.
She was as diligent writing that column as she was doing her regular job in circulation, calling managers, department heads, mayors, and anyone else that could answer the questions sent to her by her faithful followers. She did the job well, and that was witnessed by the fact many city officials hated when Eleanore would call. They knew she would be relentless in trying to get answers to her queries. That included staff here in West Haven.
When the Citizen group was bought out by the New Haven Register in the mid-1990s, it was clear the publications were going to be downsized and later scraped by the larger organization. Eventually, the Citizen went from a daily, to a weekly, to discontinued as newspapers were beginning to lose to the tech explosion in phones and the Internet.
When the West Haven Voice came about, she was on board with her husband, Richard, and became supporters of the venture. With her came the column, and up until January of last year, the column was a mainstay in the paper and solved many gripes. She knew that people understood they do not have agency when it comes to larger municipal matters but do expect the small, more mundane, matters to be taken care of by officials. That was the columns, and Eleanore’s strong suit.
Meanwhile, she worked as a public relations contact for the West Haven Civic Orchestra (where she met her husband), and for senior citizen operations in Milford. She stayed active.
As the years passed, the column was a way for Turkington to stay involved and keep her mind active. Richard died a decade ago, and she put herself more fully into the column. Time, though, has a way of catching up with everyone, and it was becoming apparent she was slowing down. Some health issues put the column on hiatus a few times, and then she determined it was time to end the run.
The Voice staff wishes the family of Eleanore Myers Turkington its condolences and prayers. She made her mark wherever she appeared. May she rest in peace.