For nearly six decades, Armistice Turtora has been actively involved in the City of Fairfax, and whatever she has done has improved it for the better. So it is no wonder that she was honored recently by the Fairfax City Council.
She was instrumental in the establishment of the city’s Parks and Recreation Board and served as its first chairman in 1969. And at the City Council’s Nov. 17 meeting, the City approved a resolution renaming the open field known as “The Bowl,” at Van Dyck Park, to Armistice Turtora Field.
“You are very deserving of this,” Mayor Scott Silverthorne told her. “When others wanted to do something else with that field, she believed it should be kept as a field where kids could sled and play.”
The U.S. formerly observed Nov. 11 as Armistice Day, in commemoration of the signing of the armistice (agreement) ending World War I in 1918. And when Turtora was born on Nov. 11, 1926, her parents named her Armistice.
SHE HAS BEEN A RESIDENT of the Town, and later the City, of Fairfax since 1959. A wife and mother, right away she became actively involved in her neighborhood as part of the newly created Country Club Hills Civic Association. She served as a block captain, newsletter editor and, eventually, president.
Yet Turtora’s interests and civic involvement extended beyond her own, immediate community. Her many accomplishments include: Organizer and first president of the City of Fairfax Federation of Citizens Associations, organizer of the Bicycle Path Committee, and member and costume designer for the Fairfax Community Theatre.
From 1959-84, she was a member of the League of Women Voters of the City of Fairfax and also served as its chairman. She worked on voter registration drives, as well as open space and education studies.
In addition, Turtora was the former chairman of the City of Fairfax Democratic Committee – and at that time, she was the only woman in the group. She also worked on many political campaigns and logged long hours at the polls on Election Day.
“She is one, tough, no-nonsense lady,” said Silverthorne. “My father [former City Mayor Fred Silverthorne] was close with her, and she ran a tight ship.” He told Turtora, “We’re lucky to have had you in this community for so long.” And, he told those attending the Council meeting, “She’s still serving it, on the Commission on the Arts [where she’s served for the past 10 years].”
Now 89, Turtora is also an expert at making handmade, knotted lace and teaches at Nature’s Yarns in the City. For the past eight years she’s sponsored the Chesapeake Lace Guild’s involvement during Spotlight on the Arts, with Lace Day, at Old Town Hall. A lifelong member of the Chesapeake Lace Guild, she has won numerous awards and accolades for her work.
THE RESOLUTION naming the field after her noted that when she became the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board’s first chairman in 1969, it was considered a “trailblazing role” for a woman at that time. And it further acknowledged that Turtora “advocated for the purchase and development of parks throughout the City [and] continually worked for the betterment of the City through her volunteer efforts.”
As the Council unanimously approved the resolution renaming “The Bowl” to Armistice Turtora Field, the audience gave her a standing ovation. Afterward, she said how much it meant to her.
“I think it’s wonderful, honoring people who work in the City and give of their time,” said Turtora. “It’s nice to get the recognition. I always say, ‘Women belong in the house – of Representatives – and also in the White House.’”