Ralph E Turner

Everybody knew him as “Gene” – nobody knew who Ralph was. He rarely met a stranger and immediately was interested in who folks were and where they grew up. Names were important to him and he made a special effort to remember the names of the people he met.

Gene died peacefully on June 12, 2019 after complications following hip surgery. He was 91 years old, born in Marietta, Georgia on September 27, 1927 to Fred and Angie Turner, the fifth of five children and the last survivor of his immediate family. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Sylvia; daughters Shannon Turner Schaffer and Tara Puckett Partin; grandchildren Gentry Schaffer, Hannah Puckett, Andrew Schaffer, and Ellyn Puckett and son-in-law Brian Partin, as well as several nieces and nephews.

Gene graduated from the University of Georgia and was a passionate Bulldog fan. He loved golf and played at River Plantation Country Club, engaging in club activities and making many golfing buddies, a special group being the “9:30 group.” When the cart paths needed repair, he was out there with his friends doing the work.

After retiring from management at Browning Ferris Industries, Gene appreciated nature and seeing the world -- planning trips, traveling with Sylvia and taking vacations with his girls and grandchildren, resulting in great adventures and making sweet family memories.

He was a member of First Presbyterian Church, volunteered at the Salvation Army soup kitchen, worked in the Book Nook at the library, and volunteered at Conroe Regional Medical Center.

In later years, when his memory began slipping, he enjoyed wonderful activities and fellowship at The Gathering Place at First Methodist Church of Conroe.

The family wishes to acknowledge with grateful thanks the kind nurses, doctors and therapists at Conroe Regional Medical Center and Heart to Heart Hospice for their care and expressions of support.

A kind and gentle man, he loved and was loved by his family and many friends. His smile, his wit and his outgoing nature made a difference in the world.