This week has obviously been one of the toughest in my life. The death of my mother, Angela Piazza Turley, was not unexpected. She died a few days shy of her 98th birthday after a long struggle.
She was my inspiration and my North Star as a public interest lawyer. I dedicated my recent book to her as the person “who taught me that life is an unyielding passionate pursuit of justice.”
I was the baby of five kids and spent much of my childhood clinging on to her skirts for dear life as she confronted slum landlords, wife beaters, and gang bangers in the Uptown area.
As the Sun-Times reported, “Angela Piazza Turley’s backbone and willpower fueled positive change in Chicago for decades.”
She was the toughest person I have ever known. Growing up as a Sicilian coal miner’s daughter in the depression in Ohio, she learned how to fight hard to survive. My father and mother arrived in Chicago with less than $2 in their pockets at night in the dead of winter. They bought two cups of coffee (the only thing that they could afford). Before they left, my mother had a job as waitress.
Fresh from World War II, my father came to Chicago to study under Mies van der Rohe and became one of his closest associates. (He is buried near Mies at Graceland Cemetery). Even after my father became a partner in Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, my mother never forgot what it was to be dirt poor and spent her life helping others as a social worker, president of Jane Addams Hull House, and the founder of a myriad of public service groups in Chicago, including a community credit union to support local businesses and families.
She was fearless and fierce in fighting for others. She left a mark on Chicago in the lives of thousands who benefitted from her work over nine decades.
As I return to work, I wanted to say thank you to the thousands who have posted messages on my blog and my X account. I cannot express how much it has meant to me and my family. This has always been a community, but, in the last week, it felt more like an extended family. I read aloud many of your comments to my family and we felt that we were surrounded by thousands of loving arms. I never felt alone despite losing one of the central figures in my life.
I will be writing about my Mom next week as we prepare for her mass and funeral in Chicago on August 1-2 at St. Mary’s of the Lake Church on the Northside of Chicago. Until then, I can only say thank you, every one of you, for being there.
Shabbat shalom everybody 🙂
Have a peaceful sabbath.
And to the good professor: may your mom rest in sabbath holiness.
Yours,
-OMFK
I am very sorry for your loss, Jonathan. Your words tell me she must have been amazing. And that explains who you are so well. May she RIP.
God bless your mom, you and your family. Thoughts and prayers Jonathan. RIP.
It sounds impossible, but it seems to be true, that every boy had the best mother in the world. I certainly did.
She lived her faith heroically here on earth, and now she is living her reward in heaven.
You’ve done hr proud, Jonathan.
Joe O’Brien
Thanks for sharing with us these words about your mom. It explains so much about your character and your passion for the law. God bless, Prof. Turley. I’ll say a prayer of thanks for her life that inspired yours and for the blessing that has been on all whose lives you touch.
What a marvelous woman and an extraordinary life! May she rest in peace.
God bless your Mom! May she rest in His peace!
My heartfelt condolence for your mother’s passing, Johnathan.
Your mother looks like a kind and thoughtful person, Jonathan.
And the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
Blessings and prayers to you and your family.
What a wonderful tribute to a marvelous woman! Our thoughts and prayers are with you, Prof. Turley.
Nobody is ever ready for it. I’ve lost my dad, and my mom is in her final years; life changes forever, and even if we understand that on some intellectual level, it’s so very hard when the time comes. Continuing to send all the good stuff to the Turley family, thank you Darren for your great posts, and just peace be to you all, especially the wonderful Mrs. Turley. Though I didn’t know you, rest in peace, dear lady, your son is a light in this world.
I agree with your mother. Getting justice is nearly impossible. Today I learned the homeless shelter I have been forced into, clears $100K/day. Obliviously the most profitable business in Flagstaff! Discussing. While my Bio is in 1000 Great scientists.
So, I may get kicked out today at 75, with no place to go, no money, I proved Phoenix SSA stole $700K from me, so they refuse to talk with me now.
The victim of 9 professional carjacking’s, a $500K loss merely in cash since 1988, when I founded Evergreen Applied Research, on my 1970 mission to enable limb regeneration for amputees.
Homeless since 9/28/01 when premeditated murder walking in pedestrian right a way in Aspen, same in hospital. They tried twice that day to kill me!
All because I live Ten Commandments.
Sam Adams being my mentor, as well as Marie Currie, Albert Einstein, Thomas Jefferson.
Denied right to bear progeny, have a home, have a piano (natural composer), make even on dream come true.
What a wonderful tribute to your mother! No wonder she raised wonderful children, and I’m sure grandchildren and great-grandchildren will carry on her legacy.
It’s wonderful to have such a mother. They simply will not let us fail. We see what they have done with grit and love and then they prepare us to do the same or better. We all measure ourselves as we compete in life. It is an immeasurable benefit to look around in your own home and see 2 parents who day by day set a standard of love, hard work and the ability to overcome all hardships and move on. You simply don’t want to disappoint them because of their effort to make you better. Nothing more fulfilling for me than seeing the pride and love of my parents. Anything else was just icing on the cake.
Celebrate her life and the great work she did which was you and your siblings.
Slartibartfast’s Younger Brother Says:
There will come a time when something is exciting, and you pick up the phone to tell your mom about it. Like me, you will turn to your tears for comfort, not because you’re not a man, but because you will always be a loving son. You never get over it, and some day you may thank God that you don’t. Bless her and bless you.
A heartwarming story. Many of us are cut from that same cloth woven together by love and strengthened by faith. May you Mom find eternal rest in the arms of Our Lord.
What a great expression of your love for your Mother. She has left you with a lifetime’s worth of priceless memories.
So sorry for your loss!
She was an amazing woman!
Your family was truly blessed. It’s a sad time when we lose our parents. I know I miss mine everyday.
God bless and prayers for you and your family.
From your words, I know you have experienced a great loss. May her memory be a blessing for you and your entire family. May she rest in peace.
We are never old enough to lose our parents, God Bless.