Alanson Vivrette Turnbough

Alanson Vivrette (Alan) Turnbough, 88, died Tuesday, July 19 at St. Dominic-Jackson Memorial Hospital. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 Saturday at Wright and Ferguson Funeral Home on High Street. Visitation will precede the funeral service at 10 AM Saturday at the funeral home. Interment will follow in Rose Hill Cemetery in Brookhaven.

Mr. Turnbough became Deputy Commissioner of the State of Mississippi Department of Banking and Consumer Finance in 1968 and served in that capacity until his retirement in 1994. He also served as Acting Commissioner twice during his career and worked for 13 different Commissioners. He began his work for that agency in 1954. Prior to that he worked for ten years with the State of Mississippi Department of Education. He began his career working for Greenbrooke Florist.

He was born in Brookhaven to Walter Daniel and Lois Vivrette Turnbough and was the grandson of William Morris and Zula Schwem Turnbough who were parents to a large Brookhaven family and Cage and Flora Payne Vivrette of Clinton, KY. In addition to his parents and grandparents, he was preceded in death by a brother Walter Daniel Turnbough, Jr. He lived most of his life in Jackson where he was a member of First Baptist Church and an active member of his Sunday School class there.

He was a 1941 graduate of Central High School and a regular participant in the Class of '41 “Central High Bunch” monthly luncheons. He had the unique privilege of living in the King Edward Hotel in Jackson with his parents for about five years. His memories of that era are included in the hotel’s history collection. He attended Tulane University where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. His education was interrupted by his induction into the U.S. Army on March 2, 1943. He was in the 593rd Engineering SS Regiment and saw service in the UK and northern France. He received several medals including ATO, EAMETO, Good Conduct and World War Two and was discharged in December of 1945. Following his discharge he continued his education, graduating from Millsaps College where he was a member of Alpha Omega and on the staff of the college newspaper, Purple and White.

He was known for being interested in and helping people in any way possible. He was also known for his organization skills. It has been noted that these skills were well used when the war was over. He completed all the transfer overseas papers necessary to return to America so quickly that his regiment was able to return to the USA three weeks ahead of the anticipated schedule.

He is survived by cousins Nancy Kirkpatrick of Charleston, MO, Margaret Virginia (Sis) Callahan Osborne, Cornersville, TN, Billy Payne Hopkins, Phoenix, AZ, Betty Lee Williamson of Englewood, FL, Mary Linda Lewis Wardlaw and John Richard Lewis of Memphis, TN, Dr. David Kennedy Stone of Jackson, Don Hook Stone of Opp, AL, Irene Turnbough Irey of Aransas Pass, TX, Pat Turnbough McDonald of Victoria, TX, Mary Lynn “Peaches” Turnbough of Gulfport, David Penton of Jackson, Deborah Penton Richardson, Mack Brabham and Joe Brabham of McComb, and Jack Brabham of Baton Rouge, LA and also by a number of special friends with whom he shared many good times.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be made to the Baptist Children's Village, PO Box 27, Clinton, MS 39060.