LT, US Navy, Irene Kuchinskas Turner
Born: November 10, 1911
Died: September 6, 2000
Burial Site: SFNC, Section 8A, Site 126
Irene Kuchinskas (Turner) was in the first group of women commissioned as U.S. Navy officers during WWII. 1 (obit) She become a Navy ensign on October 20, 1942. 2 She was promoted to lieutenant junior grade on January 1, 1944, and to lieutenant on May 1, 1945. 2 While in the Navy, Kuchinskas Turner served mostly in the office of the Judge Advocate General. 1
Kuchinskas Turner was born in Chicago Illinois to Eleanor and John Kuchinskas. 3, 4, 5 Her father, a lawyer and secretary for the US Building and Loan League, was originally from Lithuania. 1, 2 Like her father, Kuchinskas became a lawyer and was knowledgeable in the history of building and loans in the United States. 6 At the age of 21, Kuchinskas Turner was admitted to practice law in Illinois, where she practiced for many years. 1 She was a member of the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois and later practiced before the U.S. Supreme Court. 1 She married Ethelbert “Bert” A. Turner in Illinois in 1949. 7 The couple moved to Santa Fe in the mid-1960s. 8 As a veteran and daughter of immigrants, Kuchinskas Turner believed in displaying the American Flag on Flag Day. 9 She wrote in a letter to the editor to the Albuquerque Journal, “It’s a way of saying, I love you, my country.” 9
Images & Documents
Turner, Irene Kuchinskas
“Obituary for Irene Turner.” The Santa Fe New Mexican. September 12, 2000, F-4. Newspapers.com.
Notes:
1. “Obituary for Irene Turner.” The Santa Fe New Mexican. September 12, 2000, F-4. Newspapers.com.
2. Ancestry.com. U.S., Select Military Registers, 1862-1985 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013. This collection was indexed by Ancestry World Archives Project contributors.
3. “John Kuchinskas Funeral Will Be Held Tomorrow. Chicago Tribune. June 2, 1936, 16. Newspapers.com.
4. Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.
5. “Kuchinskas,” Chicago Tribune, December 27, 1961, 20. Newspapers.com.
6. “Tenants Have Chance to Give Views on Move,” Chicago Tribune, December 16, 1962, 3. Newspapers.com.
7. Ancestry.com. Cook County, Illinois Marriage Index, 1930-1960 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008.
8. “E.A. Turner,” The New Mexican, The Santa Fe New Mexican, April 10, 1985, C-3. Newspapers.com.
9. “Fly Your Flag.” The New Mexican. July 2, 1969, 2. Newspapers.com.
Images and Documents:
Featured Image:
“Co-Ed Chorus Gets Tuned Up.” Chicago Tribune. November 4, 1932, 10. Newspapers.com.
Prepared by Sue Ruth, Ph.D., Central New Mexico Community College