Who is Emily Turner Smith?

Emily was born in Greenville, GA, on August 11, 1971, to Stiles Allen Estes and the late David Jasper Turner. From birth, Emily was always a sweet, caring, and thoughtful child. These traits strengthened as she grew up.

Emily was highly intelligent. She graduated from Flint River Academy, then graduated from Auburn University with a BS degree, obtained a master’s degree from Georgia State, and earned her Juris Doctorate from Mercer School of Law. Emily then went into the practice of law, but quickly realized that she did not enjoy the courtroom and wanted something different.

She became the VP of Alumni Affairs for the Mercer School of Law. After a brief period with Ethica Health Care, her sister, Ellen Turner, and business partner, Laura Boone, approached Emily about joining their fledgling company, TurnerBoone Contract. Emily helped get their accounting, financial, and human resources departments running. Emily served as Chief Financial Officer for TurnerBoone, helping develop and build the business for 15 years before being diagnosed.

Emily’s greatest attribute was always her love for everyone. She was a Christian woman who lived for God and our Savior, Jesus Christ. Her biggest joy in life was her family, her husband, Mark, and her sons, Jack and Cullen. She was a doting mother who always created time for her boys, whether it was homework, activities, or listening to their stories. Emily never met a stranger, and everyone who met her loved her immediately. She had a gift for speaking, whether to an individual or a large group.

Emily’s Fight

On January 3, 2019, Emily woke up with an issue in her right hand. It wouldn’t cooperate with her mind. On January 8, 2019, she had an appointment with the doctor, who was sure it would be a carpal tunnel but wanted to run a battery of tests to rule out stroke, aneurysm, or a tumor. On January 11, 2019, she had a CT scan that came back abnormal and then scheduled for an MRI. On January 16, 2019, the MRI revealed a brain tumor, which was quickly followed by surgery on January 17, 2019. On January 30, 2019, we received the official pathology that her tumor was Glioblastoma Multiforme’. After that news, she completed the standard of care at MUSC in Charleston, SC, and enrolled in a clinical trial at Duke.

The clinical trial seemed to be working until the discovery of a new tumor in September of 2019. A biopsy revealed that the new tumor to be GBM as well. In the six weeks following the biopsy, she started Avastin and Carboplatin. At the next MRI, an even bigger tumor had formed in yet another location. In December 2019, Emily underwent another round of concentrated radiation, this time for ten days, and continued the Avastin and Carboplatin treatments.

In February 2020, the MRI showed another tumor on the sub-occipital lobe. The chemotherapy treatment transitioned from Avastin and Carboplatin to Irinotecan and Avastin. Emily’s MRI on March 24, 2020, showed that the GBM was not responding to her treatment. Emily’s doctors gave us the option of one more chemotherapy agent. The new agent had about a five percent chance of response and loads of awful side effects. We chose to enter hospice care at that time to preserve the quality of life she had remaining.

Emily passed away on June 10, 2020, at 11:25 pm with her husband, Mark, by her side.

Emily was a warrior, a fighter, and displayed peace and grace throughout her battle with Glioblastoma Multiforme’. Never once during the fight, did she ask, “why me,” say, “I don’t deserve this,” or “this isn’t fair.” In the face of high odds, she maintained her poise and fearlessness with a determination to beat her cancer and look after her family. Throughout the battle, Emily put the welfare and concern of others before herself; this was who she was.

Emily’s Legacy Lives On

It is because of Emily’s spirit of love, devotion, and care for her fellow human beings that The Emily Smith Foundation has come into existence. There is no better way to honor Emily’s legacy than to minister to others in need, so that they can love, laugh, and make memories, without the unneeded pressure of worrying about expenses.