Morris "Moe" Turner
| Morris Wayne "Moe" Turner | |
| In office 1972 – 1974 | |
| Preceded by | James Harlan "Jim" Granberry, Sr. |
|---|---|
| Succeeded by | Roy Bryn Bass, Sr. |
Lubbock City Council member
| |
| In office 1968 – 1972 | |
| Born | October 8, 1931 Coalgate, Coal County, Oklahoma |
| Died | June 1, 2008 (aged 76) Lubbock, Texas |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Nonpartisan position |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Lou Seward Turner (married 1950-his death) |
| Children | Brenda Sue Paine (deceased)
Andrew Ollen Turner |
| Alma mater | Lubbock High School |
| Occupation | Businessman Founder of M. W. Turner Construction Company |
| Religion | Church of Christ |
Morris Wayne Turner, known as Moe Turner(October 8, 1931 – June 1, 2008), was a businessman who served in the nonpartisan position of mayor of Lubbock, Texas, from 1972 to 1974. He had also been a member of the Lubbock City Council from 1968 until the time of his election as mayor.[1]
Background
Turner was one of four children born to Clay (1906–1980) and Addie L. Turner (1906–2000). Though Turner was born near Coalgate in Coal County in southern Oklahoma, the family thereafter moved to Lubbock. Turner graduated in 1950 from Lubbock High School, at which he played football, basketball, and baseball. In the fall of 1950, he entered Texas Technological College (since Texas Tech University) on a football scholarship. He was the quarterback and punter until sidelined by a knee injury. He joined the Reserve Officers Training Corps and was a national officer of the Arnold Air Society. At Texas Tech, he lettered in baseball as a catcher for the Red Raiders team.[2]
Upon graduation from Texas Tech with a degree in business administration, Turner was commissioned a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force and served at Ellington Field in Houston. He was assigned to the combat-ready 40th Bomber Group, 40th Bomber Squadron, Strategic Air Command under General Curtis LeMay. During the Cold War, Turner was a bombardier/navigator aboard a nuclear-armed B-47 jet bomber.[2]
On December 23, 1950, in a ceremony at the Southside Church of Christ, Turner married the former Mary Lou Seward, his Lubbock High School classmate. They couple made their home in Lubbock and had three children: Brenda Sue Paine (deceased), Andrew Ollen Turner (born c. 1954) of Lubbock, and Stephanie Gayle Procopio (born c. 1957) of Phoenix, Arizona. For more than thirty years, Turner was an active member of Sunset Church of Christ, which sponsors the Sunset International Bible Institute in Lubbock.[2]
Career
In 1961, Turner formed the M. W. Turner Construction Company, with specialty in commercial construction and development. His company did some of the later renovations on the Texas Tech campus. In 1968, at the age of thirty-six, he was elected to the first of two two-year terms to the Lubbock City Council. During his first term, the Lubbock Tornado in May 1970 destroyed much of the downtown. He was hence part of the council, along with Mayor James Harlan "Jim" Granberry, Sr., charged with the rebuilding of Lubbock after the widespread destruction caused by the storm. In 1972, Turner was elected mayor when Granberry, a dentist, chose not to seek a second term. An ally of U.S. Senator John Tower, Granberry thereafter was the unsuccessful Republican gubernatorial nominee in 1974 against Dolph Briscoe.
Turner is considered the father of the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center. He worked to insure the success of the since-named Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport, named for former Governor Preston Smith, the Canyon Lakes project, and the George and Helen Mahon Public Library, named for former U.S. Representative George Herman Mahon (1900-1985) of Lubbock. He also worked to widen Indiana Avenue and improve sanitation services. He was president of the South Plains Association of Governments and was a member of the Lubbock Board of City Development. Turner was a golfer, a singer, and a longtime advocate of his alma mater, Texas Tech.[2]
Turner died in Lubbock of a long struggle with diabetes. He was survived by his wife, son Andrew, daughter Stephanie, six granddaughters, one grandson, four great-grandchildren, two sisters, and seventeen nieces and nephews. Memorial services were held on June 5 at the Sunset Church of Christ.[2]
References
- ↑ Lubbock City Council History. ci.lubbock.tx. Retrieved on June 3, 2008; no longer on-line.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Morris Wayne "Moe" Turner obituary. The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal (June 3, 2008; no longer on-line.).
