Memphis, TN - The Tennessee House Speaker Pro Tempore has announced that Representative Larry Turner of Memphis has died.
The announcement was made Friday, November 27, 2009. House Speaker Pro Tempore Louis DeBerry told the Associated Press that Rep. Turner died Friday morning after a long illness.
Rep. Turner missed most of the last session of the Tennessee General Assembly because of the illness. He'd spent twenty-four years in the legislature with hardly any absences before the last term.
Rep. DeBerry describes Rep. Turner as a quiet, yet effective lawmaker. Rep. DeBerry told the Associated Press, "I never heard anybody say anything bad about (him), and I never heard him say anything bad about anybody."
Rep. Turner is known in Tennessee for his legislation dealing with education, predatory lending and helping restore some rights to felons.
Born January 16, 1939 in West Memphis, Rep. Turner was married to Johnnie Turner, the Executive President of the Memphis branch of the NAACP. They have one child. Rep. Turner is the owner of Larry Turner and Associates Realty Company and is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force.
Rep. Turner was 70 years old.
