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Carl Monroe Turner, 87, of Santa Fe passed away Saturday, August 23rd after a year long battle with prostate cancer. Mr. Turner was born in East Tupelo, Mississippi on October 18, 1920 to Alec Ewing Turner and Hazel Long Turner. He was preceded in death by his parents and two daughters, Candace Selby Hedeman and Carla Montez Turner. He is survived by his wife, Patricia "PJ" Johnson Turner of Santa Fe; sons, Kim Monroe Turner of Rockford, Illinois; William Shiloh Turner and James Zebulon Turner, both of Santa Fe; daughter, Alexandra Turner Dadio and husband, Stephen of Perkasie, Pennsylvania; step-daughter, Cindy Shewmake and husband, Randy of Salem, NM; grandchildren ranging in age from 40 years to two months: Audra Baca and husband, Hilario of Belen, NM, Amy Rogers of Belen, NM, Clint Sena and wife, Kymberly of Benson, North Carolina, Jett and Hadley Turner of Rockford, Illinois, Stephen, Samuel, and Daniel Dadio of Perkasie, Pennsylvania, and Adelia Turner of Santa Fe, NM; great-grandchildren, Callie Rogers, Sierra, Shelby, and Sydney Baca; also two sisters, Joanne Willis and husband, Lester of Ecru, Mississippi, and Rebecca Flynn and husband, Les of Douglasville, Georgia, and numerous nieces and nephews. Mr. Turner joined the Army Air Corps in 1942, and as a Tech Sergeant served as both a mechanical trainer on aircraft engines and as an aerial engineer in the Asiatic Pacific Theater during World War II. A graduate of the University of Mississippi, Mr. Turner earned his BA degree in history and a law degree from "Ole Miss". With law school colleagues, Mr. Turner was active in achieving the inclusion of Harry S. Truman on the presidential ballot in Mississippi in 1948. After that election, Mr. Turner moved to Socorro, New Mexico and opened a land title business until 1960. Elected to the New Mexico House of Representatives, Mr. Turner represented Socorro County and surrounds for one term before, in 1960, becoming the first and longest-serving executive manager of the New Mexico Rural Electric Cooperative Association in Santa Fe. Representing the interests of the electric cooperatives throughout the state and in Washington, D. C., Mr. Turner was well known in political circles throughout the country. Known for his vision and fearless ability to create new programs to advance rural causes and preserve the strength and purpose of the electric cooperatives, his work included creating college scholarships for rural students with funds that previously escheated to the state as unclaimed capital credits accrued through electric cooperative margins. Seeing to the necessary changes in state statutes, Mr. Turner's efforts created scholarships which have provided approximately $3,500,000 to over 3,200 students from rural New Mexico families. Mr. Turner's leadership led to the creation of the Cooperative Utilities Finance Corporation as a cooperative lending institution for New Mexico cooperatives. He initiated electrical worker safety programs, including training for co-op workers and created a self-insurance fund for workers' compensation. Under his leadership, the statewide monthly publication, enchantment Magazine, was created which reaches 80 percent of the state and has the state's second largest circulation, exceeded only by the Sunday Albuquerque Journal. He initiated the Legislative Almanac, the highly regarded unofficial yearbook of the state legislature. All issues of the Almanac had been hung in the state capital as part of a retrospective on prior legislatures. Retired in 1989, at age 70, Mr. Turner continued his representation of the rural electric cooperatives in the New Mexico legislature and advanced the cooperative cause whenever the effort was needed. Carl was a moving force in the creation of the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad in 1968-70 by developing and garnering political support for an interstate compact between New Mexico and Colorado that enabled the states to save and operate the historic, narrow-gauge, mountain, steam railroad -- the central organizing principle was his. He served from that point onward as the railroad's chief lobbyist and champion before the NM legislature and administration. Furthermore, he served as a Commissioner of the railroad for extended periods on three different occasions until stepping down in late 2006. In recognition of his contributions to the Railroad, a parlor car was named for him in 2007. A book lover and collector, a genealogist tracing his roots back to 1623, a carver and chopper of wood, a storyteller extraordinary, and a grower and harvester of horseradish, without compare, Carl Turner will be missed and remembered by his family, friends and all who knew him. In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made in Carl Turner's memory to the NMSU Foundation, Inc., P. O. Box 3590, Las Cruces, NM 88003 for the Carl M. Turner Endowed Scholarship Fund, or to Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, Inc., Carl M. Turner Memorial Fund, 6005 Osuna Road, NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109. Visitations will be held at Berardinelli on Friday, August 29, 2008 from 10:00 a.m. to noon and from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. A memorial service will be held at the chapel at Berardinelli at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, August 29, 2008. Mr. Turner will be buried at Hardens Chapel Cemetery in Fulton, Mississippi with services on Tuesday, September 2 at 10:00 a.m. Visitation in Mississippi is scheduled for Monday, September 1 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at McNeece Morris Funeral Home, 401 S. Cummings Street, Fulton, MS, (662) 862-3155. Arrangements in Mississippi are being handled by McNeece Morris. Arrangements are under the direction of Berardinelli Family Funeral Service 1399 Luisa Street Santa Fe, NM 87505 (505) 984-8600
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