On January 29th, 2025, Jerry Turner, lovingly called Papa, passed away of natural causes at the age of 94. He resided in the home he raised his children in since 1960 in Oakfield Estates, Pensacola, Florida.

Papa Turner joins in Heaven his wife of 73 years, Magdalyn Smith Turner (passed December 2023), his brother and best friend Ned Turner (passed December 2011), his son Mark Sherwood Turner (passed April 2022), and his parents Ethela and Coy Turner of Florala, Alabama.

He lived a humble childhood growing up with his older brother Ned while his parents both worked full-time. He learned the value of gardening from his mother and a good work ethic from his father. It was a time of farm-to-table homegrown tomatoes. It was a time when you learned to “make ends meet,” fix what broke, and turnip greens always had their young roots with pepper sauce and a slice of white cornbread cooked in a cast iron skillet. His was a childhood centered around a family homestead.

Following in his older brother Ned’s footsteps, he enlisted in the Navy after graduating from Florala High in Covington County, Alabama, at the age of 17. He had just begun to travel abroad when his service in the armed forces was cut short. He was called home to care for his father. He worked as an ice delivery man to support his family but needed a higher-paying job, so he moved north to Detroit, where other young men were securing employment.

Papa soon found he couldn’t bear to be separated from his high school sweetheart, Maggie, so he gathered as many coins as he could and fed them all into the first phone booth he ever used. He called Maggie, who was still a senior in high school, and she was pulled out of class. He proposed over the phone, and she said yes. Soon after, she was on her first bus ride to Detroit, trusting that Jerry would be at the depot waiting for her. It didn’t take long to grow tired of the freezing temperatures, so they moved back to the South, where they were married in 1950 in Andalusia, Alabama, by a justice of the peace. For 73 years, they only had eyes for each other.

They soon started a family, and Papa began his career with International Paper. He met his good friend and coworker, Buzz Pitts, who soon became his steady fishing partner. One of Papa’s favorite memories was cooking the shift meals, like red beans & rice, for his co-workers and keeping a fresh pot of coffee going through the night. He retired in 1992 after 40 years of graveyard shifts and started cooking those same good recipes for his grandkids. He was always ready for an old-fashioned fish fry and a low-country boil.

Papa Turner was a self-taught engineer because ingenuity was necessary where money was scarce. He created his own bilge pump switch out of two Coke cans and a marble to keep his prized possession, his boat named the Lisa-Gail, afloat. When computers, washers & dryers, and personal televisions were invented, and Maggie wanted these luxuries, he knew he had to install grounded receptacles. So he made his own ground by hammering eight-foot metal rods outside the home, preventing lightning from shorting out Maggie’s new appliances.

He was an avid fisherman and gun enthusiast all his life. He, his brother Ned, and his friend Buzz would create secret fishing reefs in the Gulf. To this day, his only descendant trusted with these treasure spots is his grandson Myles, who still regularly brings home a catch of snapper to fry for Papa.

He loved building and flying model airplanes. One of his favorite pastimes was taking his grandchildren, Rachel, Andrea, and Tyler, to the flying fields off 9-Mile Road. He carved paratroopers out of balsam fir and would drop them from a trap door in his model airplanes for the grandkids to chase. After a full day of fun, he would take them home to rock them in the old creaky rocking chair, singing the chorus to Johnny Cash’s “Fast Song”:

Deedle Deedle Dee, Deedle Deedle Dee, Deedle Deedle Dee, Dee Dee.

If Papa wasn’t out catching fish for supper or pushing his grandkids and great-grandkids in the porch swing he mounted on his workshop, you could find him watching his endless collection of Western movies or Fox News. In his last years of life, he would have his Apple iPhone waiting front and center for his favorite FaceTime calls with his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Papa Turner was a principled, loyal man of utmost integrity. He dedicated his lifetime to doing the right thing even when no one was watching. He raised his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren to know the value of your word and your handshake. He believed in God and His Good Book, the right to bear arms, eating what you kill, returning what you borrow in better shape than when you got it, living within your means, helping the needy only if you could manage, working hard but making time for the things you enjoy, minding your own business, marrying the one you love till death do you part, and most importantly, loving and remaining loyal to your family.

He will be dearly missed here on Earth, but what a beautiful Homecoming when he is received in Heaven by Ned, Mag, Mark, OkHui, Red, numerous loved ones, and his Lord and Savior.

Jerry Turner is survived by his remaining children: Gail Smith (Joe Smith), David Turner (Lisa Turner, now deceased), Lisa Russo (John Russo); his daughter-in-law, Nancy Turner; his grandchildren: Amanda Turner, Dr. Rachel Bevins (Dr. Tyler Bevins and great-granddaughters Magdalyn & Adeline Bevins), Andrea Kellar (Ryan Kellar), Dr. Tyler Turner (Ashley Turner and great-grandsons Liam and Cole Turner), Myles Turner, Dylen Turner (Sandra Turner and great-grandsons Easton and Kolton Turner), and his beloved sister-in-law Faye and Ned Turner’s family.

A Memorial Service will be held on Thursday, February 6, 2025, at Family Funeral & Cremation, located at 5627 North Davis Highway, Pensacola. Viewing will be at 9:00 AM, Service by Pastor Mark Dees at 9:30 AM, Dedication by Dr. Ken Mitchell at 10:00 AM, and Processional to NAS Barrancas at 10:30 AM, where Papa will be laid to rest with an Honor Guard Salute at 11:00 AM.

Afterwards, please join us in celebration of Papa’s life. Lunch will be provided at his favorite restaurant, Shrimp Basket on 9-Mile Road, at 11:30 AM.