Obituary of Gerald W. Turner

Gerald W. Turner

Gerald “Jerry”  Wayne Turner, tenderhearted husband, beloved Dad, and adored Pop,
died peacefully on March 14, in Harleysville, Pennsylvania. He was 91.

Jerry was born on a small farm near LaHarpe, Kansas on July 23, 1931. He was the son
of Marie (Roberts) Turner and Walter (“Tom”) Lee Turner. Jerry spent his small-town
boyhood in Iola, Kansas until moving with his family to Parsons, where he grew into
adulthood. Jerry graduated as a mechanical engineer from Parsons Junior College.
Afterward, he went to work at the Kansas Army Ammunition Plant in Parsons, where
he met Jim Blackmer, a connection that changed his life.

It was Blackmer who encouraged Jerry to move to Chicago, where In 1956, Jerry
accepted a job with the Container Corporation of America. It was also there, in a corner
Oak Park restaurant in 1958, that he met the love of his life, Doris Miller. In 1959, they
were married, and in the fall of 1960, with their infant daughter Cheryl in tow, they
moved to Philadelphia. Between then and 1972, they added five more children to their
family—four more daughters and one son.

Jerry spent 39 years in the corrugated division of the company, designing machines
that packaged products in innovative ways. He had the head of an engineer and the
hands and heart of a craftsman. The precision, thoughtfulness, and care he took in his
work was evident in every piece of furniture he built, in the meticulous storage
cabinetry he built and installed, in every award-winning project and design his kids
were smart enough to ask his help creating.

When he retired in 1995, Doris and Jerry left the east coast and moved to Sun City
West, Arizona, where they remained for 20 years. Jerry became an avid golfer. He also
loved to play cards and games, and opponents were wise to keep their eyes wide
open. Jerry took up the cause of people who suffer from food insecurity, passionately
supporting the Valley View Community Food Bank. He spent countless hours as a
volunteer and fundraiser. During retirement, traveling adventures expanded from
family visits and shore or mountain trips to include Europe, Israel, South America,
Russia, Australia, and New Zealand. Jerry loved to travel, and had hoped someday to
add China to that list.

Jerry was beloved by a wide circle of longtime friends and a big family whom he
cherished. He is survived by his wife Doris, Harleysville, and his six children: Cheryl
Maricle, Las Vegas, Diane (Scott) Webber, Fort Washington, Debbie (Skip) Derro,
Harleysville, Jerry Turner, Chesterbrook, Cindy Turner, Framingham Massachusetts, and
Julie (Bill) Prichett, Phoenixville. He also leaves a legacy of 18 grandchildren, 9 great
grandchildren, and nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents as well as
two brothers, Leon and Ron, and one sister, Janice.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Monday, March 20, 2023 at 11:30 at St.
Mary Roman Catholic Church, 40 Spring Mount Road, Schwenksville, Pa 19473. 

There will be a viewing Monday Morning from 10:00 AM to 11:15 AM at the church.

The Rite of Committal and Interment will follow at St. Patrick’s Cemetery, East Norriton, Pa.

Memorial donations to: Valley View Community Food Bank, 10771 West Peoria Ave, Sun City, Arizona 85351 would
be deeply appreciated by Jerry and the whole family.

Arrangements by Moore, Snear & Ruggiero Funeral Home, 224 West Main Street, Trappe, Pa 19426,

610-489-7900, msrfh.com