Obituary of Rebecca Horn Turner

Rebecca Murray Horn Turner of Frankfort died peacefully Thursday, September 21, 2023, surrounded by family and friends. She is preceded in death by her parents, Alice Wootton and William M. Horn and is survived by her daughter, Laura Turner; sister, Claramargaret Groover (Jim McCabe); and nephews, Nathaniel Groover (Christy) and Shaun McCabe (Jen), Oliver McCabe (Devi) along with seven great-nieces and nephews. Rebecca received her B.A. in accounting from Kentucky Wesleyan in 1978 and earned her Masters in Historic Preservation from the University of Kentucky in 2011. She was first employed by Western Kentucky Gas Company in Owensboro in 1978 where she married and started her family. Thereafter, she worked for the Theatre Workshop of Owensboro and Downtown Owensboro until 1994 when she returned to Frankfort. Her devotion to history and community development led her to become Executive Director of Downtown Frankfort, certified as a Main Street Manager through the Heritage Council, and then to public work with the Kentucky Department of Transportation until 2015. She prepared historic contexts on bridges and other historically notable properties throughout the Commonwealth and was happiest when she had unearthed links to Kentucky’s past for family and friends. She returned to the private sector as a Senior Architectural Historian with AECOM in Cincinnati where she was part of Bridging Kentucky, affectionately earning the nickname “The Bridge Queen.” Through AECOM she consulted on natural disaster projects with FEMA in West Virginia and Texas and she also served on AECOM contracts for nationally significant infrastructure projects throughout the northeast corridor including Kentucky at the time of her death. Her passion for history extended to her service and leadership to historical societies: Board member, KY Mayflower Society; State President KY Society Daughters of Colonial Wars; Chapter Manager for Colonial Dames of America Chapter IX; Kentucky Historical Society; Frankfort Architectural Review Board; and National Trust for Historic Preservation. She also served on the Board of Capital Day School where she had attended elementary school and she served her college sorority, Sigma Kappa, throughout her life.