Sheila Patricia (Peterson) Turner, 72, New Town, passed away unexpectedly on Saturday, December 21, 2024 at CHI St. Alexius Hospital in Bismarck, ND.

Sheila Patricia (Peterson) Turner was born on June 30th, 1952 to Arnold and June (Mathistad) Peterson in Williston, ND. She grew up on a farm southeast of Watford City where she attended Williams country school until the 3rd grade when she moved to the “new” Johnson’s Corners elementary school. She then went on to Watford City High School where she graduated in 1970. After graduation, she registered for classes in Colorado to work taking reservations for airlines, but changed her mind and took accounting classes at Williston College instead. In February 1969, Sheila went on a blind date with the man who turned out to be her one true love, Bob Turner. In 1971, Sheila and Bob were married and began their life together in New Town, where they raised their 4 children. Sheila was very good with numbers, and worked several bookkeeping jobs, including at an optometrist office, a bank, and Northrup Grumman. She also worked as a CNA at the New Town Nursing home. In 1974, she and Bob purchased the Chances Are Restaurant in New Town, and added a bakery in 1980, where they worked until they closed it in 1989. In 1983, they built and opened the Chances Are Bottle Shop, which she ran until she retired in 2017. Over the years, Sheila enjoyed meeting new people and customers, who often became friends. She worked very hard every day, and took great pride in running her business.

Sheila was a huge animal lover, and had many pets over the years. When she was young, she had cow named Suzy, a cat named Fluffy, a rooster named Louellen, and a guinea pig named Porky. She also had a horse named Checkers, who she had until he passed away at the age of 28. As an adult, Sheila continued her love for animals, rescuing many cats and dogs from the community, as well as from the humane society. Sometimes these rescues resulted from her kids finding and bringing kittens and puppies home off the street, with Sheila easily being persuaded to keep them. Despite loving all animals, Sheila’s favorite were her Pomeranians who she affectionately called her “girls.” Teddy was the Pomeranian who started it off, and was there for her when her kids had all graduated and left home. Soon after came Panda. Next was Baby, then Kodi, and finally Sunny. Sheila loved taking her girls everywhere she went and had suitcases of clothes to dress them up in. There wasn’t a holiday or special event that went by where she didn’t have an outfit ready for her girls to wear.

Sheila also loved shopping and jewelry. Anyone who knew her would agree. Whether it was carefully looking through the ND state fair commercial buildings, browsing through shops in tourist towns, or simply walking through a convenience store when stopping for gas, Sheila enjoyed looking for treasures for her family and friends. Whenever she visited her kids, grandkids, or anyone else, she would show up with a bag or box of goodies that she wanted them try. Often times, this would also include a t-shirt, necklace, or gadget that made her think if them. She was always thinking of others. She was also very talented at crocheting, spending hours and hours making hats, blankets, or pet beds for her family. During covid, she used these talents to make crocheted ear protectors for use with masks, which she donated to the hospitals and nursing homes.

Sheila was the absolute best mother and grandmother. She loved her kids and grandkids more than anything in the world and would have done anything she possibly could have for them. She always said her greatest accomplishment was having four healthy children because they were her life. She would then say that this was also important because it allowed her to have 8 wonderful grandchildren. Sheila had her hands full raising four kids while running a business, but she never made it feel that way. She was always there to help with homework and school projects, and came to every concert or activity that she could. She gave great advice, and was always there when her family needed her. Her grandkids adored their grandma. In their words, “she always cared about everyone else more than herself, and gave never-ending showers of praise no matter how bad you played in whatever sport or activity she came to watch.” She always had a new game, craft, or baking activity to do every time she saw her grandkids, and loved hanging out and playing with toys, or just watching movies with them. She took full advantage of “grandma rules” whenever she could, letting the grandkids have cookies for breakfast, giving them an extra pop or candy, letting them stay up past their bedtime, or spoiling them with some item that their parents wouldn’t get for them. They also loved how funny their grandma was. She was always silly with her kids and grandkids and could get them giggling and laughing with her sarcastic comments or witty replies. We will all endlessly miss her huge heart, the endless love she had for her family, and her never ending support for those she loved.

Sheila is survived by her son, Toby (Kim) Turner, Dickinson; daughters, Tracy Turner (Brett Fladeland) of New Town, Tammy (Donny) McReynolds of Ariel, WA, and Terry (Eric) Halverson, of Dickinson; grandchildren, Wyley, Rowdy, Couly, and Rally McReynolds, Ethan and Evy Halverson, Wyatt and Morgan Turner, and Cody and Kaleigh Fladeland; sister, Ardyce (Lloyd) Alveshere of Keene; brother, Wayne (JoAnn) Peterson of Billings, MT; sisters-in-law, Judy Schell of Mandan, and Ann Peterson, Manchester, WA; and numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Bob; parents, Arnold and June Peterson; brother, Ronald Peterson; father-in-law and mother-in-law, Wayne and Margaret (Smith) Turner; brothers-in-law, John Turner, Brian Turner, and Lawrence Schell; and sisters-in-law, Debbie (Drovdal) Peterson, and Geraldine (Grimstad) Godes.

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