Henry Lee Turner II passed away on November 2nd at McClellan Veteran’s Hospital in Little Rock, Arkansas. He was born on April 28, 1925. He lived fully every day of his 100 years.
Born and raised in Warren, Arkansas, he worked on the Alaskan Highway after graduating from high school. In 1943, he joined the Navy and was a tail gunner in a dive bomber squadron attached to the USS Midway. After the war, he attended the College of the Ozarks, then the Arkansas State Teachers College (now UCA), and then completed his M.Ed. at the University of Arkansas.
He coached basketball and football for several teams before becoming the high school principal at Des Arc and then the principal of Northside Elementary in Morrilton, Arkansas, retiring after 17 years at Morrilton.
He loved nature and traveling. He visited every state in the U.S. and most of the National Parks. After retiring, he became a world traveler – always on the cheap – a loaf of bread, a jar of peanut butter, and a bottle of water was the fuel for many jaunts. With his wife Beth, he visited numerous countries on five continents.
He loved music, especially live, and dancing and was as excited about a school band’s recital as a Ray Charles or Count Basie concert. His love of sports is legendary. He was a fan not only of the Razorbacks, but of all the colleges of Arkansas. Winning or losing didn’t matter as much to him as just being at the game. His devotion to high school athletics was such that in 2016, the Arkansas Basketball Coaches Association named him Arkansas’s Number 1 Basketball Fan. Morrilton honored him many times.
Above all, he loved people – seeing old friends and meeting new ones. If he could talk long enough to you, he would find some mutual friend or acquaintance. One never knew when or where Henry Turner would turn up, but it would be a safe bet that he’d be the last to leave any event, often after the lights were turned off.
He is proceeded in death by his parents, Cone and Bernice Belin Turner; his brother Cone; his sisters Jane, Martha, and Annette; his nephew Marty Womble; and many aunts, uncles, in-laws, and friends that he loved as family. He is survived by his loving wife of 62 years Julia Beth Scott Turner; his daughter Jane; sons Paul, Hank, and Cone; daughters-in-law Michele Turner and Stephanie Turner; grandchildren Hunter Lively, Sierra Turner, and Dakota Turner; nephews Jim Womble, Dallas Miles, and Jerry McClain; nieces Melissa Miles and Lucinda Miles; and many grand-nieces, grand-nephews, in-laws, and beloved friends.
He truly kept the commandment to love thy neighbor as thyself and he never met a stranger.
There will be a visitation at 1:00 p.m. at First United Methodist Church in Morrilton on Tuesday, November 11, with the funeral service to follow at 2:00 p.m. There will be a small graveside service in Oakland Cemetery in Warren on Wednesday, November 12, at 12:00 p.m. Donations may be made to the Morrilton High School Athletic Department or Music Department. Arrangements are by Harris Funeral Home of Morrilton.