Turquoise T. Moten

Service will be livestreamed at 3pm on SL McLaughlin Funeral Home and YouTube page.
Turquoise Tiara Moten was born on May 6, 1987, in Rochester, New York to parents Robert Moten, Sr. and the late Pamela Denard (Moten) Salmon. Neither knew the other carried the “sickle cell” trait - a 7,000-year-old ancient "fix" to protect humans from mosquitos carrying malaria that attacked the blood. Because both her parents had the trait, Turquoise was born with full blown sickle cell disease and had to fight severe pain that put her in and out of hospitals her entire life. Health challenged her body, but never her spirit. Turquoise’s legacy will be her incredible courage and determination to live.

Turquoise was a pretty girl we teased for being “mawga", Jamaican slang for thin.  She was blessed to be truly loved by both families and enjoyed spending time with the Moten clan in Rochester.  After her parents divorced she spent the majority of her life with her cherished mother Pam, in a close-knit unit with her siblings L’Chrishia Moten, Tiernan Jackson (deceased 6/2025) and Jahon (JaiVonte Salmon).   Turq collected holiday Barbie dolls and sneakers, loved Reggaeton, had a mischievous laugh, accepted you as you came, and was loyal to the last drop.  She took on the role of a female enforcer when she should have been protected herself, but Turq learned to fight through pain and rarely backed down. What made her special is that she owned her mistakes and didn’t let bitterness hold her down. Sometimes her Taurus stubbornness cost her, but she made no excuses. When she was betrayed by violence, she kept her head up because that was their weakness, not hers. Her true inheritance was her warrior spirit. She stood on business, coming from a line of Black Seminoles, Mende warriors, and Jamaican maroons that included women warriors who kept their faith in the Most High.

Turquoise went to Job Corps for culinary training and entrepreneurship. She launched a really creative candy gift basket business to practice for her longtime dream of starting a catering and food truck business. When she learned in 2024 that diabetes was costing her sight, her aunt and uncles tracked down specialists from Boston to Atlanta to try to prevent it, and she picked up the pace after Tiernan’s surprising loss. Turquoise was actively working with family to relocate to Atlanta, a warmer place with sickle cell experts using experimental treatments.  She wasn’t pressed about leaving anything behind!  Her two health battles would have stopped most people in their tracks, but Turquoise never gave up and radically changed her life after Pam’s death. She ate organic food, read books, listened to tapes and studied businesses as she saved to become a “clean food” caterer who could operate blind. She received tremendous support from her beloved sister Chrissy, who’s daughters Samarie and D’Zhani often stayed with her, and she often watched her nephews Savior, Pharaoh, baby niece Legacy, and Tiernan’s son Mekhi.  They adored her aunt as much as she loved them and they are devastated by her loss.

We ran out of time when God eased her pain on December 27, 2025, two days after her last message wishing everyone a happy holiday. Her being free of pain is a gift we never wanted, but we’re happy she’s at peace. She leaves behind to cherish her memory three grandparents: Geanethel “Grandma Gean” Denard, Leslie Salmon, Sr. and Cicero Ryland. She was predeceased by her grandmother Darlene Moten. From her mother’s line, she'll be missed by her siblings Chrissy and Jahon, and their children; her loving aunt and uncles Dr. Jamie Denard Green (Mark), Vaughn Denard, Michael Denard, Leslie Salmon, Jr. (wife Denoshi died of sickle cell in 2024), Phil King (Rebecca deceased), Ricky Manning (Trish), Lorna Salmon, Albert Salmon and all their children and grandchildren. On her father’s side she is remembered by her siblings Shatoya Fanning (Michael), Robert Moten, Jr., Sharese Dyson, Quinton Neal (deceased 2025), Sade Moten and Malachi Florence-Moten; her aunts and uncles Vanessa Ryland-Buntley (James), Maia Lesesene (Lawrence), Cicero Ryland III, Nicholas Ryland and hosts of cousins, nieces and nephews, and generations that came before.

To our dearest Turquoise, may the ancestors protect your trip back home.

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