Max L. Turnipseed

Max L. Turnipseed went home to be with the Lord on Monday, Feb. 21, 2011, at 9:20 a.m. He was surrounded by Carrine, his wife of 33 years, William M. Bailey Jr., his stepson, and the Rev. Donald Tabb, his longtime friend and pastor. Max was born Oct. 23, 1936, in Wichita, Kan. He was preceded in death by his parents, Zella and Roy Turnipseed, and only sister, Myrna Anderson. He is survived by his wife, Carrine Amacker Turnipseed; son, William M. Bailey Jr. and wife Laura; grandchildren, Gabrielle Bailey and Anne-Marie Bailey; daughter, Brenda Schexnayder and husband Jimmy; grandchildren, April LeBlanc and Jennifer Cox; daughter, Brenda Carlson and husband Kurt; grandchildren, Blair Alexander and Benjamin Cox; and sons, Brent Turnipseed and Brad Turnipseed. Max graduated from East High School in May 1954. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1954 through 1959, stationed at Camp Pendleton in San Diego. He also was stationed in Okinawa and Tokyo, Japan, while serving his country in the Marines. He completed his military service in 1959 and immediately entered college at Wichita University and graduated in three years in 1962. His main support was the GI bill and part-time jobs at Mountain Iron&Supply Co. Upon graduation, he worked for Texaco Oil in Tulsa, Okla., from 1962 through 1966. Afterward, he joined Ethyl Corp. where he worked in Baton Rouge, Richmond, Va., and Washington, D.C. Max served as the spokesman for the U.S. Bromine Alliance on trade-related matters, and as Ethyl's Associate Director of Government Relations during the seven years he was in Ethyl's D.C. office before being transferred back to Baton Rouge in 1991. During his years in Washington, D.C., he managed legislative and regulatory matters that could potentially affect Ethyl and the chemical industry in general. Before retiring, he returned to Baton Rouge and continued working for Albemarle (formerly Ethyl) until 1996. Afterward, he formed his own international trade company, MCT International. His career covered many areas, but international trade was his specialty. He had more than 30 years of experience in analyzing and advising industry and the government on U.S. international trade policy, particularly as it relates to the global chemical industry. He continued to serve on the U.S. government's Industry Trade Advisory Committee (ITAC) for chemicals where he was a charter member and former chairman for more than four years. He also served in these capacities during GATT and World Trade Organization (WTO) multilateral trade round negotiations, as well as a number of U.S. Bilateral Free Trade Agreement negotiations starting with Israel in 1984. He represented the chemical industry and developed NAFTA rules of origin for certain value-added chemicals. He worked directly with USTR in developing product-specific rules of origin to be used as a "model" for all free trade agreements starting with Chile and South Korea. He continued in the advisory system with primary responsibilities for chemicals, customs and trade facilitation in representing Dow Chemical for specific chemical industry matters covered under the WTO, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), ASEAN Free Trade Agreement, the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA) and other regional and country specific free trade agreements including Chile, Australia, Singapore, CAFTA, Oman, Thailand, South Korea, Malaysia and others. Max also consulted with several subsectors of the U.S. chemical industry and major trading partners in formulating the "Chemical Tariff Harmonization Agreement" during the Uruguay Round and in coordinating the formation of global coalitions for negations in the ASEAN free trade agreement and APEC. During the Uruguay Round, he served the Chemical Manufacturers Association, now the American Chemistry Council, as their Special Trade Advisor. At the conclusion of the Uruguay Round, he was recognized by the WTO Secretariat as an industry "expert" to serve on panels organized to resolve challenges made by parties affected by pre-shipment inspection practices. He worked with several corporate clients in the chemical industry, working on trade-related matters with a Washington, D.C.,-based law firm that represented the State of Louisiana in antidumping cases against frozen crawfish from China and shrimp from four different countries. He was also a senior associate at the international consulting firm of Samuels International Associates, Inc. (SIA) in Washington D.C. His work at SIA was primarily interacting with clients in Europe, Africa, Japan, China and Vietnam, particularly focused on chemicals and other trade related matters. He continued to serve in many areas of the ITAC representing the chemical industry at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C., until his death. Max was an elder at The Cornerstone Chapel. He was also active for many years on The Governor's Prayer Breakfast Committee. He always felt he was an ambassador for Christ every day he lived. He was a caring, fun and loving husband and a great father. He served as a scoutmaster for the Boy Scouts of America for many years. He was always willing to help anyone and his love and generosity affected many lives. Active pallbearers will be Dr. Kemp Amacker, Stan Hardee, Keith Amacker, James Tabb, Stanton Hardee and Sigmund Waghalter. Honorary pallbearers are Warren Rabb, Gus Kinchen, Bob Welch, Jimmy Gill, Danny Price, Jimmy Field, Foxy Denham, Jimmy Dodds, Ed Sexton and Jim Benham. Visitation at Rabenhorst Funeral Home, 825 Government St., on Friday, Feb. 25, was from 5 p.m. to 8 pm. Visitation continues at The Cornerstone Chapel, 1700 Lee Drive, (inside the sanctuary of Southside Baptist Church), on Saturday, Feb. 26, from 10 a.m. until service at 11 a.m. Interment in Greenoaks Memorial Park, 9595 Florida Blvd. Memorial gifts should be made to The Cornerstone Chapel's Building Fund, 4724 Jamestown Ave., Suite 6, Baton Rouge, LA 70808. Friends and family are invited to fellowship after the funeral service and burial at 4263 Broussard St., Baton Rouge.