Jerry Whiteside Turner

A live Zoom tribute to Jerry will take place on Sunday, February 28, at 7 PM Eastern time at this link:

https://us05web.zoom.us/j/81936139785

Jerry Whiteside Turner, 89, of Dale City, VA, passed away on February 21, 2021 after an extended illness.

Jerry was born in Guntersville, Alabama to Willam R. Turner and Thelma Whiteside on April 7, 1931.  The family moved when Jerry was 15 years old, to Gastonia, NC, where he lived out his high school years and married Gretchel R. Rector on October 6, 1951 in Greenville, SC.

He joined the US Air Force at age 19, and completed various training programs, including Officer Candidate School, which was a highly sought-after program at the time and required the highest level of recommendations in order to attend.  The training led to an eventual promotion to First Lieutenant, and to many more promotions over the years until he achieved his retirement rank of Lt. Colonel.  Jerry was one of the rare Air Force individuals who was able to advance all the way from airman to Lt. Colonel, from status E-1 to O-5 in military parlance.

During his tenure with the Air Force, he studied for and attained a Bachelors degree as well as a Master’s Degree in Education.  He held various positions in the administrative staff of the Air Force, including Squadron Commander, Inspector General, and a role at the Pentagon as aide to a general.  He stayed in the Air Force for the maximum amount of time allowed, becoming a “regular officer” and then having his retirement postponed several times as he was asked to stay on, a privilege which is accorded only to a small percentage of Air Force officers who have shown extraordinary devotion, hard work, perseverance, and strong performance.

Raised as a Southern Baptist, he retained his devoutly Christian perspective and belief through his entire life.  He was also a Freemason, joining the lodge in Laredo, Texas.  Although uninterested in formal church attendance at the end of his life, he and Gretchel continued their spiritual beliefs in their own quiet way, reading the Bible each morning and discussing the meaning of the passages.  They both believe that he has now “joined his spiritual Father in Heaven”.

During his long Air Force career, he and his family lived in many parts of the US and also outside the US.  His assignments included the Marshall Islands; San Antonio, Texas; Baldy Hughes Air Base in British Columbia, Canada; Othello, Washington; Takoma, Washington; Saigon and Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam; Louisville, Kentucky; SHAPE, Belgium; Tampa, Florida; the Pentagon, Washington DC; and Rantoul, Illinois.  Traveling back to North Carolina to visit the extended family with his own immediate family most summers, they experienced together visits to almost every state in the union.

After retiring from the Air Force, Jerry settled down in Dale City and spent 10 years working at the Potomac News newspaper.  After that, he spent another 15 years volunteering at the Dale City Neighborhood Library and what is now the Sentara Hospital.  Retirement for Jerry was not for relaxing!  He was always looking for things to do and ways to help, until his health would no longer allow it.

A life-long lover of popular music, he bought one of the first commercially available tape recorders, and spent long hours at the air base radio station recording the music he liked best.  The genres he enjoyed spanned popular music in all its forms, as well as folk music, some classical, and “outlaw” country music.  At the end of his life, he returned mostly to his love of Southern gospel music.  He inherited his brother William (“Julie”) Turner’s large collection of gospel cassette tapes and CDs, and he carried them along with his Sony Walkman on his daily walks.  He also enjoyed dancing along with the music, at one point enthusiastically picking up clogging from his nephew John Turner and practicing it at various clubs in North Carolina for several years.

He also loved board games and card games.  He was raised on pinochle and cribbage, he loved Scrabble and Yahtzee, and he was willing to try just about any game.  He continued to play cribbage and Scrabble up to the end of his life, and he continued to win against his sons and grandchildren at those games on a regular basis.

On the lighter side, he loved crazy hats, ties, shirts, and socks.  His family played into those affections by providing a steady stream of oddball clothing for each birthday and Christmas celebration.  Jerry would cheerfully wear all these items during the family member’s next visit.  Most notably, he was the Electric Hillbilly, receiving an off-beat electrified hat and overalls and beard from his nephew John Turner, and wearing it at least every Hallowe’en, and sometimes in between.  The Domino’s Pizza employees loved it so much, they would always give him a free pizza for dropping by!

Jerry was a happy, optimistic man with a strong spiritual faith.  He saw the best in other people and showed great kindness, respect, and generosity to family, friends, co-workers, and neighbors.  On the rare occasions when he showed anger, it was with a quiet, gentle strength, much like his father before him.  He liked to laugh and joke around. He was a fine cribbage and pinochle player.  He had a green thumb, and tended a fertile family garden for many years.

Jerry was a kind, loving man who was very generous with his love.  He was often known to give a hug to restaurant servers who were complete strangers, as a reward for their great service!  One of his long-term doctors commented, “I am very glad to have known him,” to which his wife Gretchel replied, “that’s what most people say”.

Jerry is preceded in death by his brothers Carl Walter Turner (“Bud”), William R. Turner, Jr. (“Julie”), and his sister Jean Dolores Fritton (“Slim”).

Jerry is survived by his wife of almost 70 years, Gretchel R. Turner, his son Jerry R. Turner and wife Barbara Fitzgerald-Turner, his son Jack W. Turner and wife Robin Renner, his son Ronald R. Turner and wife Tamara Bowman, his brother Charles Murphy (“Charlie”) Turner and sister-in-law Angela Bernard Turner, sister-in-law Faye Turner, and grandchildren Devin Turner, Adam Renner, Katie Turner, Elise Turner, and Alexis Turner, and numerous nieces and nephews.

The family of Jerry Turner wishes to extend our sincere thanks to Sentara Hospital, First Light of Woodbridge, Capital Caring, and Dr. Monica Taylor.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Jerry’s name to the Dale City Neighborhood Library (4249 Dale Boulevard, Dale City, VA, 22193).  Here is the link to the donation form:

https://www.pwcgov.org/government/dept/library/SiteAssets/Pages/ways-to-give/OnlineDonationForm.pdf

If folks have any questions, they can call Karen Gates at 703-792-6100.