Maureen Turner Barnes passed away peacefully in her daughter’s home in Sacramento, CA, on December 17, 2025, with family and her faithful dog by her side. Maureen was born in Leicester, England 90 years ago to Percy Lawrence and Clarice Kathleen Turner.

For everyone that knew her, she was a feisty, fiery, and independent British woman who was passionate about her family, the Monarchy (and also very proud of her U.S. citizenship), and her many German Shepherd dogs she owned throughout the years, including her most recent fur baby, Lizzie (named after the Queen herself). She grew up in England during World War II, started working at the early age of 14, and worked all her life until she retired at age 75.

At age 19, she met a young U.S. Army lieutenant, Edward Delano, they married and they moved to the U.S.  They moved to Redding, CA, had four daughters, and there she lived most of her adult life, almost 50 years.  As a young woman she worked in hospitality and retail.  She became a loan processor and vice president at Heart Federal Savings and Loan in Redding. She continued work in the mortgage and loan business for over 30 years. She was a proud member of the Daughters of the British Empire, where she organized their annual British Tea fundraiser.

In 1964, she married Charles (Chuck) Barnes. Maureen enjoyed life with Chuck for almost 30 years, owning a classic car and auto repair business together, building 3 homes, traveling, and taking road trips on their Harley Davidson, including 2 trips to Chicago. Not long after Chuck had passed, Maureen moved to the Sacramento area and has lived there for the past 15+ years.

After receiving a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer in June 2025, she knew she was on borrowed time. After many procedures and challenges for her to be able to eat and function normally day to day, she decided she wanted to stay in her own home as long as she could, with her dog, and take care of herself. There was no changing her mind. And if you were to visit, the first thing she would want to do is get up and fix you a cuppa, and an array of cookies and digestives. You could tell her that you can do it, but she would insist on doing it herself.  And that is how she lived the last six months of her life - the same way she lived the past 90 years, as a strong-willed, independent, resilient, and determined woman. 

Maureen led a very interesting and full life. She showed us that life might knock you down, but it’s your choice whether to stay there. This only made her stronger and more determined. Her strength became our strength, and her determination showed us that we could overcome anything. As her daughters got older, they too have become very independent and carry on those life lessons from her work ethic, strength, and resilience.  She used to tell us that when you’re feeling down and think your life is so horrible, talk to other people about their troubles, give them a helping hand to lift them up, and then you’ll always feel better about your own life, and help someone else as well.

Even though she was ill these past six months, we had some good talks and visits with her. There was a lot of Scrabble, tea and cookies, and an occasional shandy (beer and 7up mixer). We can still see her sitting there knitting in her chair (probably her 60th scarf this year which she donates to the unhoused community), watching her British TV, with her infamous red hair and her glasses on the tip of her nose.

In her last year, we had a big family 90th birthday party for her, she attended a family wedding and got to see all her grandkids and the great grandkids. We are so very grateful for that time with her. We will miss her spunk and sass, but she lives on in each one of her daughters, that much we know for sure. We will miss you mom, grandma, great-grandma, sister, auntie, friend, Maureen and Mo.

She leaves behind her 4 daughters, Kathleen (Delano) Wilens and husband David, Lorraine (Delano) McComb and husband John, Roxanne (Delano) Balfour and husband Rick, and Melody (Delano) Roesner; her 9 grandchildren; her 7 great-grandchildren; her nieces and nephews, her sister June (Turner) Wood and her brother Terence Turner.

A Celebration of Life will take place in Lincoln on Saturday, February 7, 2025 at 12:00 pm, at The Willow Room, Lincoln Public Library building, 485 Twelve Bridges Dr., Lincoln, Ca.

 In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made on the memorial gifts page to the Second Chance German Shepherd Rescue or the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network for research. 

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