Jeremiah also had a remarkable way of remembering the people who had been good to him.

He had a wonderful teacher at Saks named Ms. Pate. I never had the opportunity to know her because she retired before I became principal, and she passed away several years ago.

Jeremiah and I often passed the cemetery where Ms. Pate was buried. It didn't matter what we were talking about at the time. As we passed that cemetery, Jeremiah would stop our conversation and say out loud,

“I love you, Ms. Pate.”

Every time.

That's the kind of heart Jeremiah had. When he loved you, he didn't forget you.

Jeremiah lost his father last year. His dad had proudly served with the 101st Airborne during Vietnam, and Jeremiah was extremely proud of his father's military service. From time to time, Jeremiah and I would go together to visit his dad's grave.  Whenever Jeremiah and I passed an American flag, he would stop what he was doing and salute it. But he wouldn't lower his hand until I saluted too. Then the two of us would bring our hands down together.

I don't think I will ever pass an American flag again without thinking about my friend.

There are so many things I am going to miss about Jeremiah. I'll miss our lunches. I'll miss talking about sports. I'll miss hearing him talk about Alabama and Saks football. I'll miss his jokes with the Auburn fans. I'll miss hearing him pray before we ate. I'll miss riding down the road with him singing gospel music. And I'll miss those little things Jeremiah did that could make everyone around him smile.  But most of all, I am simply going to miss my friend. Jeremiah taught me something through the way he lived. He remembered people. He appreciated people. He loved people. He loved his family. He loved Saks. He loved his country. And most importantly, Jeremiah loved the Lord.

He wasn't ashamed to pray. He wasn't ashamed to sing about his faith. And he wasn't ashamed to let people know what—and Who—he believed in.

Saying goodbye to Jeremiah hurts

Those faculty lunches also gave Jeremiah plenty of opportunities to have fun with the Auburn fans.

Jeremiah was a huge Alabama fan, and he had an amazing ability to remember the scores from the previous Saturday. He knew exactly which teachers and coaches at our lunch table were Auburn fans. If Auburn had lost, Jeremiah's timing was perfect. He would wait for just the right moment and innocently ask, “What was the score last Saturday?”

One week he decided to take the joke even further. Jeremiah showed up at the faculty lunch table wearing an Auburn jersey and tried to convince everybody that he had switched sides. The Auburn fans loved it.

But the very next week, Jeremiah walked back into lunch wearing nothing but Alabama gear. His brief career as an Auburn fan was over.

That was Jeremiah. He loved Alabama, but he also loved having fun with people. There wasn't anything mean-spirited about it. He enjoyed the rivalry, the laughter and making the people around him smile.

When I retired, our weekly lunches didn't stop. Jeremiah and I continued meeting at local restaurants. We would sit down together and mostly talk about sports. Those lunches became something I always looked forward to.

But before we ever ate, Jeremiah prayed.

He always said the blessing at our lunch table. Jeremiah loved the Lord, and I know the Lord loved Jeremiah.

Our time together wasn't limited to the lunch table. On the way to and from lunch, Jeremiah loved singing gospel music. I never realized at the time just how precious those simple moments would someday become—the two of us riding down the road, listening to and singing gospel music, going somewhere to eat and talking about whatever was on our minds.

My Friend Jeremiah

It is hard for me to put into words what Jeremiah meant to me. I was fortunate to be his uncle, but somewhere along the way our relationship became much more than that. Jeremiah became one of my very best friends.

Our friendship really began to grow around 2007, and for nearly twenty years we shared a lot of life together. Some of my favorite memories are not from big occasions. They are from ordinary days—eating lunch, riding down the road, talking about sports, going to ball games, laughing and just spending time together.

Jeremiah graduated from Saks in 1996, but in many ways he never really left. He loved Saks, and he especially loved Saks football. For years, I invited him to our pep rallies, right up until I retired in 2021. Jeremiah had his own special job at the end of each pep rally. He loved taking the microphone and telling the seniors they could come down onto the gym floor for the Alma Mater.

It might have seemed like a small part of the pep rally to everyone else, but it was important to Jeremiah. That was his job, and he was proud of it.

While I was principal, I would invite Jeremiah to eat lunch with me and the faculty about once a week. One day I needed to step away from the lunchroom for a couple of minutes. Jokingly, I told Jeremiah, “You're in charge until I get back.”

The teachers smiled as Jeremiah answered, “Yes, sir.”

When I returned just a couple of minutes later, I walked into a lunchroom filled with students who were as quiet as mice. Jeremiah was standing with his arms crossed, scanning the room. I walked over to the faculty table and asked what was going on.

The teachers just smiled and said, “You left Jeremiah in charge. He thought everybody was talking too loud, so he put the entire lunchroom on silent—including the faculty table.”

I learned something that day. When you put Jeremiah in charge, Jeremiah was in charge.

We loved Jeremiah. He was always so loving and kind to us. We will really miss him! Prayers for all his family 🙏🏻❤️🙏🏻

OBITUARY

Jeremiah Levon Turner

February 17, 1977 – August 26, 2026

Chapel Hill Funeral Home

Show your support

Send Flowers

Add a Memory

Share Obituary

Get Reminders

Past Services

Visitation at Chapel Hill Funeral Home

Committal Service

Funeral Service at Chapel Hill