Frederick "Sonny" Turner

Proving God will take anybody, the Lord dragged Sonny to Heaven on March 25, 2018 after he had wrung every last bit of fun and adventure possible out of this life. Everyone who knew him was sure he would die in a fiery crash on his beloved Harley or flip his Porsche going 200 miles an hour, but staying true to character, he shocked everyone and died in his sleep at the tender age of 71.

Sonny burst into the world kicking and screaming on the 26th of February 1947, in Ohio. He proved to be a bit much for the nice folks in Ohio and moved to Texas where he fit in quite well. His mama raised him with a deep sense of patriotism so when he turned 18, he thought it would be a good idea to enlist the Marine Corps and see the world. To reward Sonny for his really good marksmanship in the Marine Infantry, the US Government gave him an all-expense paid trip to Vietnam where he got to see a lot of exciting places like Khe Sanh. In 1969, he decided that sweating in the jungle and crawling around in tunnels with a .45 was something he was no longer interested in, so he left the Marines, bought a Harley and moved to California.

Sonny had a natural talent for making money throughout his life and was an excellent car salesman, manager, and a truck driver. He was a Freemason, avid sailor, motorcycle enthusiast, gun collector and really, really loved women. Sonny had an opinion on everything, two of the biggest passions he was known for, was sailing off the California coast and riding motorcycles all over the Western United States. He was a passionate man of mercurial temperament and colorful language, you always knew just where you stood with him. Sonny laughed a lot, even when he was asleep and was generous to a fault, when he loved you, you knew it. But the one person that he loved more than anyone on this earth was his mother. He made sure she lacked for nothing and if he could not visit her, he called multiple times per week. Inevitably when you greeted Sonny one of the first things everyone asked him about was his Mother.

Proving that God has low standards, Jesus Christ offered Sonny the gift of Salvation and he finally accepted the offer in his late 60’s. He was shocked that Jesus Christ would die for a guy like him with all of the bad stuff he had done in his life, everyone else was shocked that God would take him. Heaven is a lot louder now that he is there.

Sonny has left behind his mother, Mary Wingo; sister, Janet Ruscher and husband Al; nephew, Garrick Ruscher and wife Sherry; nephew, Alan Ruscher and wife Shannon; along with a ton of close friends and acquaintances. To use the tired cliché, to know Sonny was to love him.

Memorial Services for Sonny will be held on Saturday, May 26, 2018, 9:00 AM, at the Ventura Yacht Club, 1755 Spinnaker Drive, in Ventura, with military honors rendered by The United States Marine Corps. Following the services his ashes will be scattered off the coast of Ventura in the Pacific Ocean that he loved so much.

Arrangements are under the direction of the Ted Mayr Funeral Home, 3150 Loma Vista Road, Ventura. Condolences may be sent to TedMayrFuneralHome.com.