Felicia Turrentine Daniel

Obituary For Felicia Turrentine Daniel

Mrs. Felicia LaVerne Turrentine Daniel passed away Monday, August 19, 2024.

Her funeral service will be held on Friday, August 30, 2024, at 12:00 pm at Centenary United Methodist Church at 2300 W. Friendly Avenue in Greensboro, North Carolina. Visitation will precede the service at 11:30 am. Burial will follow the service at Lakeview Memorial Park at 3600 N. O'Henry Boulevard in Greensboro, North Carolina.

You may also pay your respects to Felicia 2:00 - 5:00 pm on Thursday, August 29, at the funeral home.

To view the livestream of the service: Centenary United Methodist Church of Greensboro on FACEBOOK or on YouTube

Mrs. Felicia LaVerne Turrentine Daniel, 46, of Greensboro, North Carolina was born in Statesville, North Carolina. Her parents, Larry F. Turrentine, Jr., and Venice U. Thomas Turrentine, believed that God truly blessed them on Wednesday, March 1, 1978, when she came into their lives. The angels welcomed Felicia into eternal sunshine on Monday, August 19, 2024, after a tragic car accident. Felicia spent her childhood in Greensboro, North Carolina where she attended various schools including Bennett College Children’s House, Seventh-day Adventist, St. Pius Catholic School, Aycock Middle School, and Page High School, before graduating from Western Guilford High School in 1996. In addition to pursing her passion for culinary arts through various courses and activities at the Weaver Education Center during high school, she was a Girl Scout, played the clarinet, and participated in enrichment programs at North Carolina A&T State University on Saturdays and during the summers. She also participated in the Jabberwock Scholarship Pageant sponsored by Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. during her senior year. After high school, she continued her education at North Carolina Central University. She later earned her Medical Technology degree from ECPI in 2011.

Resourceful and determined, Felicia seized every opportunity that came her way. While in high school, she worked at Fresh Market. Later, she participated in an apprenticeship as a pastry chef at Lucky 32 Restaurant and worked at Harris Teeter as head cake decorator for almost twenty years. Multi-talented and motivated by medical challenges she and her family faced, Felicia pursued a role at Urgent Care following her graduation from ECPI. Along the way, she also worked as a bartender and managed real-estate property.

While working at Harris Teeter, Felicia met the love of her life, Jason Daniel in 2009. While dating, she also embraced Jason's son, Aiden, and loved him as her own. Felicia and Jason commemorated their love in a beautiful wedding on August 16, 2014, in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. On August 11, 2024, they set sail on the Margaritaville Islander cruise to celebrate their ten-year anniversary. Less than twenty-four hours after returning from a cruise where the cruise staff made their small dream of renewing their ten-year wedding vows a beautiful reality, Felicia, Jason’s “sunshine”, tragically passed away.

From as early as three or four years old, Felicia eagerly absorbed all she could in the kitchen while watching her relatives cook. She honed her deep-frying skills under her uncle's guidance, often observing him at the North Carolina State Fair, where he started Chef's D’Lites over twenty years ago. Felicia’s love language was cooking and baking, whether it was a beautifully crafted cake on a birthday or a full spread for the holidays. Her talents extended beyond traditional dishes—she catered to her mother’s vegetarian diet and others with specific dietary preferences. Felicia also shared her passion with a broader audience by appearing on local TV stations, walking viewers through her favorite recipes during cooking segments. In addition to creating cakes for weddings and special events, her famous pound cakes were featured at Town and Country Meat and Produce Market, where her culinary talents continued to delight and inspire the community. Among her proudest moments as an entrepreneur was when she purchased her own food truck on August 18, 2022.

Felicia's culinary talents earned her both local and national acclaim. In 2013, her appearance as a contestant on the Destination America series Deep Fried Masters caught the attention of Steve Harvey, leading to guest appearances on the Steve Harvey Show in both 2013 and 2015. She also demonstrated her expertise at events like the "Got to Be NC" Festival and on the Cooking Channel show, Carnival Eats. In 2016, she compiled her recipes and released them in a cookbook, Confessions of a Deep Fry Master.

Felicia’s vibrant personality rarely hinted at the significant health challenges she faced. She not only inherited her love of cooking from her family, but also heart issues. Fitted with a pacemaker, she flatlined three times over the course of two years and learned shortly after the passing of her uncle, Vincent Thomas, in June 2023 that her heart was functioning at thirteen percent. On August 8, 2023, she was blessed with a new life when she underwent open heart surgery to have a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implanted. Despite these health struggles, she remained devoted to her work at the State Fair, a place she considered her second home, just as it had been for her uncle, Vincent Thomas.

Though the kitchen was undeniably Felicia's happy place, she also cherished time spent at the beach and trips to Disney World. If you didn’t know, her secret detective skills were unparalleled—there was not a question or problem she could not solve with ease. And, despite her biological heart being weak, it overflowed with love for her family and friends who she adored spending time with. Her godchildren were especially dear to her; she poured her heart into each of their lives as if they were her own.

Felicia was preceded in death by her grandparents: Jesse N. Thomas, Ruby Harris Thomas, Larry Turrentine, Sr. and Lillian Turrentine; and her uncle: Vincent Thomas. Her memory will live on in the hearts of her devoted husband: Jason Daniel; bonus son: Aiden Daniel; parents: Larry and Venice Turrentine; in-laws: Ervin and Nellie Daniel; brothers-in-law: Eric Daniel (Shelly), Chris Doyle (Rhonda), special aunts: Crystal Summers Thomas and Jocelyn Foy; first cousin: Tanika Chanell Thomas and children, Kamden and Kamiyah Jones; aunt: Glenora Thomas; sister-cousin: Tanisha Davis (James); great uncle: Donald Morrison, Sr.; great aunts: Nellie Harris, Merle Thomas, and Mildred Thomas; godparents: George and Phyllis Coates, Sr., Roy and Cleora Mitchell; godchildren: Kamlynn “Munchkin” Dennis (Alesha Dennis-Brooks), Yancey Harmon, Kahlese Myers, and Joshua Terry; sister-friends: Dr. Gwyda “Rita” Myers (Henry) and Kendra Royal (Quincy Hodge); brother-friends: Bobby Knight (Katina) and Carlos McNeil (Brooke); beloved fur baby: Bentley; and a host of many relatives, friends, and supporters.