Dr. Franklin C. Turner

Dr. Franklin C. Turner 94, of Portsmouth passed away peacefully at home on February 23 with his son Chandler at his side. He was the son of Reginald Barrett Turner and Grace Wilkinson Turner. He was predeceased by his wife Hazel Smiley Turner in 1967, two brothers, Reginald B. Turner of Jensen Beach, Fl and Howard G. Turner of Richmond, Va. and a sister Margaret G. Turner of Newport News, Va. Survivors include his son Franklin Chandler ?Chan? Turner II and wife Ellen Alberti Turner and her daughter Carrie Ellen Robbins of Portsmouth, a grand-son Franklin Chandler ?Buddy? Turner III, sister Elinor Turner Westbrook of East Brunswick, N.J., a nephew John D. Westbrook and wife Bonnie of Highland Park, N.J. and two nieces Louise Turner Brown and husband Jim of Oakland California, and Ann Turner Heyes and husband Ian of Tasmania, Australia. Dr. Turner was born in Franklin, Va. and raised in Clarksville Va. He graduated from Clarksville high school in 1928 and entered Duke University that year where he took his premedical work. He was a graduate of Duke University. and the Medical College of Virginia. While at Duke University he lettered in both track and Swimming and was elected to Tombs, an honorary athletic fraternity. He played saxophone and clarinet in the Duke Blue Devil Dance Orchestra, The Duke Collegians Dance Orchestra and Clarinet in the Duke Symphony Orchestra. During his freshman year at MCV in 1942 he was inducted into the U. S. Army and assigned to the Army Specialized Training Program ASTP. After graduation and an Internship at MCV he was called to active duty and served 18 months at the 10th General hospital in Manila, Philippine Islands and served as Chief of Medicine at Camp Pickett for 6 months before being discharged with the rank of Captain in 1948. Soon afterwards he set up practice in Portsmouth. Dr. Turner had been a computer enthusiast for the past 30 years. He enjoyed, up to the end, receiving and sending e-mail messages keeping in touch with members of his family, many of his classmates and friends. He held an advanced ticket in Amateur Radio with call sign W4UKG and enjoyed running ?phone patches? to the families of active duty servicemen stationed overseas and aboard ships at sea during the 50s and 60s. He was a past member of the Isiac Walton Club where he enjoyed Skeet Shooting and Archery, and was an amateur photographer for over 60 years. He was an avid golfer and was a charter member of Elizabeth Manor Golf and Country Club. He was also a charter member of the Portsmouth Optimist Club and a past member of the Portsmouth Rotary Club. Dr. Turner was a member of both Portsmouth General and Maryview Hospital staffs and was elected to the Honorary Staff of Maryview Hospital in 1976 following his retirement in 1975. He was a member of the AMA, the Medical Society of Virginia, the Southern Medical Association and the Portsmouth Academy of Medicine. He will be terribly missed by his family and the community he so lovingly served for so many years. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to either Monumental United Methodist Church in Portsmouth or to the American Lung Association. A funeral service will be held at 2:00PM Saturday in Loving Funeral Home, Churchland Chapel, with interment in Greenlawn Memorial Gardens. The family will receive friends in the funeral home Friday from 7-8PM.

Dr. Franklin C. Turner

October 21, 1910 - February 23, 2005