Donald Lloyd Turner

Donald Lloyd Turner was born in Richmond, Calif., on Dec. 21, 1937, and died Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2014, in Seattle, of cancer. Don was the son of a hardware store clerk and a homemaker and served in the U.S. Navy. He received his bachelor and doctorate degrees in geology from UC Berkeley. Don, his former wife, Edith Rohde, and their three children came to Fairbanks in 1970, where Don was a professor of geology at University of Alaska Fairbanks until 1988.

Don built and ran the Geophysical Institute's first geochronology lab. His research included summers in remote Alaskan locations with hot springs and the study of oceanic plates under the Cook Islands. Don retired at age 51 and for 26 years traveled the world cycling through Bali, kayaking in Hawaii and snorkeling in the south Pacific. He explored passions from stained glass and stunt kites to Kripalu yoga and bluegrass music. He was active in the Ballroom Dance Club of Fairbanks and loved photography, cycling, skiing and spending winters in Columbia. Don learned to hunt and fish from his parents and was a consummate outdoorsman, hunting moose and caribou. His ashes will be spread at Chitina, where he dip net fished every summer with his son, Alec. Don is survived by his children and their partners, Lia Stuart, Jill and Kellee Crisafulli, Alec Turner and Amanda Bohman, and Isabella Vance; grandsons, Ethan and Colton Stuart and Slate Turner; and granddaughters, Bingjie, Ling and Jade Turner. He was preceded in death by his son-in-law, Scott Stuart; his mother, Katherine Bates Turner; his father, George Raymond Turner; and his sister, Marie Turner Gosling.

A celebration of Don's life will take place in Fairbanks this summer. In lieu of flowers, please donate to a charity that preserves wilderness, or a charity of your choice. Arrangement are being cared for under the direction of Evergreen Funeral Home & Cemetery, 4504 Broadway in Everett, WA.