Obituary of Richard E. Turner

Richard Emil Turner, 90, of Lakewood N.Y. died December 19, 2014. A lifelong resident of the Jamestown area, "Dick" Turner was born May 16th 1924, the son of Richard H. Turner and Dorothea Peterson Turner. He was a loving husband for over 61 years to the late Autumn C. Turner whom he married Sept 4, 1948. He graduated from Falconer High School where he participated in several sports and musical ensembles. He was also an Eagle Scout. Dick received a Bachelors of Engineering from Cornell University. While at school, he was a participant in the V-12 Officers Training Program and after graduation, left the university to attend Midshipmen's School in New York City. He graduated with an Officers Commission in the Navy in 1945. He served in the Western Pacific during the time immediately after the war. Following his return stateside, he served in the Navy Reserves and attended classes at the Business School at Cornell University. Dick joined Falconer Plate Glass Corporation in 1948, a company founded in 1922 by his father, Richard H. Turner, and his grandfather Emil Peterson. He established the Falconer Plate construction contract division and expanded to locations in Elmira and Horseheads. He was elevated to president in the late 60's where he grew and strengthened the company over many years. He later changed the business name to Falconer Glass Industries and continued as President until 1992. Dick served on the Board of Directors for many local businesses and organizations, including Dowcraft, Marine Midland and HSBC banks. He was a member of Christ First United Methodist Church and served on the Bishops Council of the Western NY District. He was a 32nd degree mason, and a member and Past President of the Rotary Club of Falconer. He also served as President of the Jamestown Manufacturers Association and the National Association of Mirror Manufacturers. Dick was a pilot, an avid skier, a golfer and a competitive E-Scow sailor. He joined the Holimont Ski Area in its inaugural year where he later served on the board of directors. He was also a member of The Ellicottville Ski Club and Moon Brook Country Club. He was an active member of the Chautauqua Lake Yacht Club for 66 years where he served in various leadership positions including Commodore. The pinnacle of his sailing career was as 1965 Eastern champion in the E-Scow class. He often placed in the top ten at the national championships, and was invited to several invitation only regattas. He continually introduced new people to the sport of sailing and was recognized by the National E-scow association with a lifetime achievement award at the age of 84. Dick was an avid Bills fan holding season tickets for many years and attending games into 2014. Other favorite activities included tennis, swimming, playing his violin and singing old college songs. When asked what was most important to him, his immediate response was always "family". He took great pleasure in spending time with all of his grandchildren, and enjoyed teaching them to golf, sail, and play chess. Besides his parents, Dick was preceded in death by his wife Autumn. He was survived by his four children Dawn (Stephen) Columbare of Lakewood, Richard (Terry) Turner, Jr. of Lakewood, Geoffrey (Jenny) Turner of Ashville, Marcus (Amy) Turner of Lakewood and thirteen grandchildren Kristen (Kevin) Berwald of Snoqualmie, WA., Nicholas Columbare of Rochester NY, Curtis Columbare of Schenectady NY, Ryan Columbare of Lakewood, Richard E (Heather) Turner III of Lakewood, Bradley Turner of Manhattan NY, Lauren Turner of Manhattan NY, Anna (Greg) Wu of Rensselaer, Alex (Deb) Turner of Rochester NY, Amy-Katherine, Alyson "Sebby", Cameron and William Turner all of Lakewood, and two great-grandchildren Tyler and Benjamin of Snoqualmie WA. He is also survived by his loving companion Ann Shively Kalbach. Friends will be received from 5-8 p.m. January 9th at the Lind Funeral Home. The funeral will be held Saturday, January 10th at 10 a.m. in Christ First United Methodist Church, Jamestown followed by a reception in Darrah Hall at the church. A private interment will occur after the reception. In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to Christ First United Methodist Church Living Endowment Fund, 663 Lakeview Avenue, Jamestown, NY 14701, or to The Chautauqua Lake Community Sailing Foundation, P.O. Box 291, Lakewood, NY 14750.