John Turner Obituary

A former Durango resident with deep roots in the area, John William Turner Jr. died Friday, March 19, 2010, in

Hallsville, Texas. He was 76.

Mr. Turner was born May 15, 1933, to Richard “Dick" William and Claudine (Bowen) Turner at the old stone Mercy

Hospital. He was the fourth generation of his family in the area. His grandfather, Pappo Turner, was born in Animas

City in 1877.

His brother, Rod Turner, remembers sledding with his brothers down 14th Street and sliding down the icy sidewalk on

frying pans. The family spent summers at their cabin on Electra Lake, where the boys dug worms to sell to fishermen and

snagged suckers for their eggs, which they would use to catch trout. In the winter, they skated and skied at the

lake.

Mr. Turner graduated from Durango High School in 1951 and enlisted in the Coast Guard in 1953. He was stationed in Port

Angeles, Wash., and worked in Air/Sea Rescue. Although he was a radar and Morse-code operator in the service, Mr.

Turner also learned to fly while in Washington.

On July 18, 1956, he married Marilyn E. Heckman in Port Angeles. The marriage later ended in divorce.

Mr. Turner had a number of careers in his lifetime. He worked in the family businesses of banking - Turner Industrial

Bank - and insurance, was a private pilot and truck driver and owned Rocky Mountain Mobile Home. He owned La Boca Ranch

in the 1970s and built the fort just north of the Val-Air Glide Park and the dam at Falls Creek.

He married Jeanne MacDonald. The marriage later ended in divorce.

Mr. Turner left the area in the early 1980s and lived in Hewitt, N.M., and Baker City, Okla. He had spent a year

exploring Latin America before his death.

Mr. Turner was preceded in death by his former wife, Marilyn E. Turner, in 2004.

He is survived by his sons John W. Turner of Hallsville, George, Theodore “Ted" Turner of Alpharetta, Ga., and Timothy

C. Turner of Los Angeles; daughters Julie T. Jorgensen of Littleton, Shannon Turner and Stefanie Turner, both of Bend,

Ore.; brothers Rod Turner of Durango and Nick Turner of Durango and Wickenburg, Ariz.; seven grandchildren; and

numerous nieces and nephews.

Cremation has occurred. A private memorial service will be held at a later date in Durango.