64. 

Donna Mott Turney 16 Dec 1926 - 11 January 2026, age 99

Granddaughter of Rocco Vincenzo Sarli AKA Joseph Louis Mott

Donna Faye "Betty" Mott Turney, 99, passed away at her home in Alamogordo, NM, on 11 January, 2026. Betty was born on December 17, 1926 in Lehi, Utah, the fifth of 12 children, to Jacob Lyman and Elsie Sowards Mott.

Betty enjoyed a life-long passion of learning. She graduated from high school in 1943 as valedictorian of La Jara High School, La Jara, Colorado, and then graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry, Bacteriological Sciences in 1947 from Adams State College, Alamosa, Colorado. She began her medical technology career shortly thereafter at St. Francis Hospital in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

In 1949, she married John F. "Jack" Turney, and together they raised four children. After their marriage, Jack began his career in the National Park Service, and Betty continued working in the medical technology field for another 30 years, including performing research in Los Alamos, NM, as well as working in laboratories in New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, and Arkansas. When Jack retired from the National Park Service after 30 years of service, Jack and Betty purchased and operated White Sands Concessions from 1981 to 1996.

Her passion for learning, combined with a love of plants acquired from growing up on a farm, led Betty to become a Master Gardener. She eventually became President of the Alamogordo Garden Club, and ultimately, President of the New Mexico State Garden Club in 2001.

In her twilight years, despite failing eyesight, Betty continued her quest for learning by listening to audio books each night and keeping up with current events. All who knew her well were amazed by her mental acuity, especially in her later years.

Betty is survived by a brother, Dr. Joseph Mott, a sister, Jeannie (John) Brandis, and all of her children -- daughters Janet White and Elizabeth Schellman (Mark), and sons Brian Turney (Carol), and John Turney. Jack and Betty also have 13 grandchildren and 23 great grandchildren.

The memorial service for Donna "Betty" Turney will be held Saturday, January 17, 2026, at 11 am at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1800 23rd Street, Alamogordo, NM.

Inurnment in the Santa Fe National Cemetery will be held at a later date.

 63.   Joseph Louis Mott's Naderman harp

 62.

Old photo of Sarli/DeCarolis house

 

 61. 

Rocco Galgano in front of Sarli/DeCarolis building

Molto bello, Rocco!

 60.

Sarli Home in Laurenzana (part 2)

by Dr. Joseph Mott

After seeing the Sarli land in the country, we returned to the cars. I removed my muddy shoes and climbed into Giovanni’s Audi. He announced that we would now go to the “Sarli house." This surprised me, as he had never before mentioned a Sarli house to us before.  He told me he had been in the house when his aunt lived there with his Uncle Luigi De Carolis.  He loved his great-aunt Maria Carmela Sarli.  She was a daughter of Grandpa Mott's brother, Vito Sarli (1855-1944). This house is located in the village, on SS92, which weaves its way through the village. The house is not far into the village. When you look out over the hill below, there is a lot of green countryside.  The house itself has two levels.  The house has been reconstructed on one end, so that only part of the original remains as it was. That part has steps up to the upper level, and the old original arch of the front door, and a broader entrance through an arch into the lower level. The key of the arch of the door has the date 1839. The building to the right is an old school, apparently built in 1809, and there is a plaque on the front wall commemorating an event. Walking down through the front arch, there are some stairs to  the right leading upstairs to a door, and two more large arches, one through the back wall, and overlooking a valley, and and the other toward the left, with a double gate or iron door that you can easily see over the top.  

Giovanni told me that the Sarli's kept their animals on the lower level.  He said it was a large space before the construction modifications.  I asked him how many animals it might hold. He said “40." Adam and I think that Grandpa Mott may have herded the sheep to pasture each morning from this area. This house is on SS92, but that is the modern name. I will do a little research and see if the street name was possibly strada Trojana, where Grandpa Mott was born.

In a letter written by Gwen Mott, Uncle Elmer's 2nd wife, she says that Uncle Elmer remembered that his father said he lived in a house that was big and white. That leaves the possibility that this was the house where Grandpa Mott was born and lived.  It looks like it was a substantial house and could easily be described as white. Once the ground dries out, Giovanni hopes to explore a second rural area property connected with the name Sarli.

 59.

The Sarli Home in The Country (part 1)

by Dr. Joseph Mott

On Saturday, June 10, 2023, Giovanni De Carolis led us to a rural property just outside of the village of Laurenzana.  Adam, Fernanda, Christopher, Julieta, and I got out of the car. It had been raining some, and we climbed over what looked looked like an electric wire fence, but we didn’t get shocked.  We started up a little hillside.  The ground was pretty wet, and there were a lot of clumps of grass, but dirt between, sort of a slippery clay, making it difficult to walk or climb up the hill. We all  managed to reach the top of the hill, but did not find any buildings or ruins of buildings. Lower down on the hill, it looked washed out, and there was water seeping from the ground.  Someone had put a new black plastic hose, about 1 1/2 inch in diameter, into the hill where the water was seeping. The hose ran down the hill further, across a little stream, and then up onto the property beyond a fence on the other side.  I surmised that someone had tapped a spring for water.  I was interested in seeing this because Grandpa Mott reportedly lived close to a spring or stream in a rural area.  One account mentioned the possibility of a spring running under the house.  In any event, we did not see any ruins of a house in the washed out area.  In fact, it was not a good locale for a house because of the rough terrain.  The stream was small, but probably could carry a lot of water in the wet season.  Someone had constructed dams (we saw two), out of large masonry blocks, each with a broad spillway in the middle. Perhaps they wanted to form small pools. 

 58.

Dr. Joseph Mott visits Laurenzana

Dr. Joseph Mott, his son Adam and daughter-in-law Fernanda with their two children, visited the Province of Potenza June 8 -11. On June 8, they stayed overnight in Viggiano. During the day, Giovanni Antonio De Carolis, his wife Antonietta, and translator Annalisa Pisillo drove from Laurenzana and met with the Mott's for the very first time at their hotel in Viggiano.

L to R: Dr. Joseph Mott, Annalisa Pisillo, Antonietta Martoccia, Giovanni De Carolis, Adam Mott

Giovanni is the grand-nephew of Maria Carmela Sarli (1898-1990), daughter of Vito Maria Sarli (1855-1944) who was the brother of Rocco Vincenzo Sarli AKA Joseph Louis Mott (1857-1894). As a boy growing up in Laurenzana, Giovanni knew and dearly loved Maria and her husband Luigi Policarpio De Carolis (1899-1980).

Now Giovanni works for the city of Laurenzana and his wife is a math teacher. They are the parents of two grown sons, Rocco and Marcello, who  both live and work in Potenza. Rocco is a security guard and Marcello is a high school music teacher who is gaining fame as a classical guitarist and virtuoso of the chittara battente.