Dr. Deborah Turner, a Mason City native and the national president of the League of Women Voters, died Sunday from complications after a pulminary embolism according to a statement from the LWV.
Turner was born in Mason City in 1950 and graduated from Mason City High School in 1969. After graduating from medical school at the University of Iowa in 1978, she became the first black doctor certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology in the specialty of gynecologic oncology in 1985.
Turner practiced medicine for 35 years and worked at hospitals in Mason City, Davenport and Des Moines. She also taught medical residents in programs at the University of Iowa, University of Nebraska and the Medical College of Wisconsin.
Turner first joined the League of Women Voters of Metro Des Moines in 2010 and later served as president until 2015. Turner was elected president of the national organization in June 2020 and was re-elected to the same position in June 2022.
(By Bob Fisher, KGLO, Mason City)