Ancestors

Phiilp Turner

Phillip Delano Turner, known as Phil, was born on 25 October 1936 on his family's farm at Bull Run, in Preston County, West Virginia. His parents were Clarence Edgar "Red" Turner (1894-1963) and Mary Ruth Rice Turner (1903-1977). He was the youngest child on the family's memorial record.

His brothers and sisters were Raymond T. Turner, who died as an infant in 1923, Alma Esta "Boots" Turner Boudreaux (1924-1992), Charles Evans Turner (1926-1928), Velma June Turner Ault (1929-1980), and Eldon Fay "Red" Turner (1932-2012). Two of the boys died very young, before Phil was born.

Phil graduated from Masontown High School in 1954. He then studied at Potomac State College, a two-year college at Keyser, and at West Virginia University. For six years he taught and coached in the Preston County schools.

He then joined the West Virginia Department of Welfare and rose to deputy commissioner. He later directed the state Commission on Aging. He went on to the United States Department of Agriculture as Regional Food Stamp Director for the Southeastern Region, based in Atlanta. The memorial also says he served on the President's disaster team during national disasters. Later he was chief executive of the Preston County Sheltered Workshop and of Valley Healthcare Systems. A sheltered workshop gave paid work and training to people with disabilities. In all, his career in state, federal and private service ran about 45 years.

On 8 August 1959 he married Carolyn Lou Zinn of Reedsville, the daughter of Harold Burnard Zinn and Sarah Catherine Morris. He was 22 and living at Arthurdale; she was 17, and her parents gave their consent in person. The Rev. J. C. O'Dell married them at Reedsville. They had three children, Kimberly, Michael and Victoria, and in time four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. They celebrated their 59th anniversary on 8 August 2018. He died on 16 August 2018 at Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, after a three-year illness with cancer. He was 81. He had no grave. His body was given to the West Virginia University Human Gift Registry for teaching and research in the health sciences.

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Researched October 2026. Cite: Heirology, "Phiilp Turner (1936-2018)", https://heirology.com/ancestors/phiilp-turner-1936-2018-df4cbb.