Mrs Turvey died in Dunedin Hospital last Wednesday, aged 89.
She was a former social worker for the Anglican-Methodist Family Care Centre, a councillor and deputy mayor in the St Kilda borough and then a Dunedin city councillor.
In 2017, she was invited to open a pop-up library in South Dunedin and she received a Dunedin Public Libraries citation that year in recognition of her longstanding advocacy for library services.
Library services manager in 2017 Bernie Hawke said Mrs Turvey’s tenacity, drive and enthusiasm continued long after she stepped down from local government.
In 2019, she welcomed the news a South Dunedin library and community complex would be built at the corner of Macandrew Rd and King Edward St after the Dunedin City Council bought the site.
"After 29 years of trying, it’s magnificent and I’m terribly excited and thrilled," Mrs Turvey said at the time.
Former Dunedin South MP Clare Curran said she was impressed by Mrs Turvey’s breadth of knowledge about St Kilda.
"She was a fierce advocate for a community facility, a library, in South Dunedin.
"She just never gave up."
South Dunedin Community Network chairwoman Eleanor Doig said Mrs Turvey was warm-hearted, generous and kind, but could also be "feisty".
A private cremation has been held for Mrs Turvey and a memorial service would be confirmed at a later date.
The mother and grandmother was wife of the late Dick Turvey, a former Otago Daily Times advertising manager and gardening columnist, and she had eight siblings.
The South Dunedin library and community complex is expected to open in 2024.
