Martha Fuller Turner Bauguss (’62), 81, a businesswoman who served on UNT’s Board of Regents from 1997 to 2000, died April 8 in Houston. She earned her UNT degree in music and elementary education and met her first husband on a blind date while in school. She worked as a teacher for 15 years – then went into real estate. Known for her endless energy, she opened Turner-Owens Real Estate in 1981 and grew the firm, later renamed Martha Turner Properties, into the largest independent brokerage in Houston with more than $2.3 billion in annual sales. She sold it in 2014 and today it’s known as Martha Turner Sotheby’s International Realty. Martha, who appeared on the first cover of the North Texan when it began its magazine format in 1997, was inducted into the Texas Business Hall of Fame in 2009. She also was active in civic and arts organizations and supported health care, education and women’s causes. She received UNT’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 2005.
Martha Fuller Turner Bauguss (’62), 81, a businesswoman who served on UNT’s Board of Regents from 1997 to 2000, died April 8 in Houston. She earned her UNT degree in music and elementary education and met her first husband on a blind date while in school. She worked as a teacher for 15 years – then went into real estate. Known for her endless energy, she opened Turner-Owens Real Estate in 1981 and grew the firm, later renamed Martha Turner Properties, into the largest independent brokerage in Houston with more than $2.3 billion in annual sales. She sold it in 2014 and today it’s known as Martha Turner Sotheby’s International Realty. Martha, who appeared on the first cover of the North Texan when it began its magazine format in 1997, was inducted into the Texas Business Hall of Fame in 2009. She also was active in civic and arts organizations and supported health care, education and women’s causes. She received UNT’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 2005.
