Polly Sparks Turner, Ph.D., M.P.H., a health and pharmacy pioneer, former academic, community volunteer and regional director of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., died March 30 at age 84. She is remembered as a caring role model, mentor and leader who touched countless lives.
“We join the hearts and hands of our sisters around the globe as we remember our 20th South Central Regional Director Dr. Polly Sparks Turner,” said an AKA statement. “Please pray for her family, friends and the Alpha Kappa Omega Chapter.
The Wheatley High School graduate attended Texas Southern University and earned a bachelor’s degree from the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. She received her master’s and doctorate degrees from the University of Texas Health Science Center.
Her higher education background included serving as an associate professor at the TSU College of Pharmacy, chair of the Health Sciences Department and assistant vice president of Alumni Affairs.
She became the first African American director of Pharmacy Services at Beaumont City Hospital, Houston’s Twelve Oaks Hospital and Doctors Hospital, and the first African American bureau chief for the City of Houston Health and Human Services Department as director of Office of Evaluation Services and Health Center Administration.
She was an active member of Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church and affiliated with the Museum of Fine Arts-Houston; The Links, Inc.; Girl Friends, Inc. and Top Ladies of Distinction. She was an accomplished fundraiser, and her efforts included the “Three of Us” galas and five endowed scholarship funds at TSU and the UT Health Science Center. She received numerous awards and honors for community service.
Survivors include her brother, James Weldon Sparks, and a host of other relatives and friends.