Ernest Leroy Turner

Ernest Leroy Turner, son of the late Ernest Turner and Mary Turner, was born on October 2, 1927, in Hall Station, MD, which was located in what is now known as Bowie, MD.  His parents passed away when he was young, so he was raised by his maternal grandfather and grandmother, Mr. & Mrs. John Williams, on a tobacco farm along with their three sons.  He attended Mt. Nebo Elementary School and Frederick Douglass High School here in Prince George’s County, but never made it past 9^th grade due to the death of his grandmother, at which point he left school to help his grandfather on the farm.  He went on to serve in the Army during two wars, being drafted both times.  In World War II (1945-1946), he served as a train guard, and in the Korean War (1951-1953), he served as a cook, and he was supposedly one of the best cooks they’d ever had.   Before heading off to the Korean War in October of 1951, he was united in marriage to Mary Gladys Turner (Butler) on August 26^th of the same year.  This union was blessed with seven children.  His son, Ernest L. Turner, Jr., preceded him in death at the age of 6 on March 14, 1958.  He was also preceded in death by Mary Gladys on July 1, 1996.

Ernest was a man who did not shy away from hard work.  Besides working on a tobacco farm with his grandfather, as a civilian, he also worked as an orderly at the former Glenn Dale Hospital, he delivered flowers for Bowdler’s Flower Store in Washington, D.C., and he worked at Giant Foods in Landover, MD.  He finally landed a job as a federal police officer, from which he retired after 30 years.  He took great pride in caring and providing for his family.  In his downtime, he enjoyed raising hound dogs and hunting with his close friends, memories that he often reflected on around the holidays, especially Thanksgiving.

Ernest departed this life on Wednesday, December 22, 2021, at the age of 94, about 2 ½ weeks after submitting his life to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Ernest is survived by his six children:  James, Tawanna, Darlene, Rose, Penny, and Lisa and a host of grand-, great-, and great-great-grandchildren.