Jd Turner

Joseph Desha Turner V, 81, was born in Enid, OK and was unexpectedly taken from us on February 7. He is survived by his sister, Sue Edwards; children, Joe Turner, Ann Horton and Sue Majerus; grandkids, Frank Green, Mashala Horton and Rayshel Horton; great grandson, Trenton Green; step-children, Cathey & David Fullerton, Jim Woodward III, and Paul Woodward; step-grandchildren, Lynnea Libra, Kelsey Anderson, Samantha Woodward, Danielle & Suzanne Woodward, and TJ Woodward; step-great grandchildren and many cousins and friends. Proceeded in death by his parents Nelson and Ruth Turner; wife, O'Dean Woodward Turner, and son, Don Turner.

While Attending Classen High School in Oklahoma City, JD was in the band playing Clarinet, Alto & Tenor sax; graduating in 1950. He continued his love for music playing in the Army Reserve Band. JD received his BS in Civil Engineering at Oklahoma A & M. While there, he was Social Chairman of his fraternity TKE. He moved on from the Army reserve to a 1st Lieutenant in the US Army, spending two years at Ft. Leonard Wood, MO. While there he commanded a 200 man company and trained new engineer recruits.

JD planned to be an engineer building bridges, following the footsteps of his dad, Nelson Turner, PE. He started early on this goal by spending summers “on the road” working highway construction from just 14 until he completed his BS.

He spent much of his career in the Aerospace industry including External Loads program for the B-58 Bomber, Aeronautical Research Engineer with the Air Force at Tinker Field and became the structural fatigue expert on the B-52, B-47 and KC-135 aircraft. While there he was designated as THE structural engineer to work on Air Force 1 if it ever developed any structural problems. Although Polio left him handicapped he continued his education at OU, Air Force Institute, SMU, MIT, UCLA and OSU. He also taught half time while finishing his MS at OSU in 1960.

Rocketdyne contacted JD and offered him a lead engineer position on the rocket engines for the Saturn missions to the moon. The OKC Times on April 23rd, 1963 commented about his work on the Saturn 5 "Star Graduate of the Oklahoma State University engineering school, Joe Turner, may help put the first man on the moon." JD was also involved in top secret projects such as putting a nuclear engine in a B36 bomber by helping design the turbine for the nuclear reactor.

JD had completed all the coursework requirements for a PhD in Engineering but he did not have a subject for the dissertation. Later in life he realized the cutting edge projects he had been working on would have been an appropriate dissertation topic. Knowing young engineers need dissertation topics, JD wrote a summary of "A Dozen of My More Interesting Structural Problems". He also wrote numerous Technical Publications. Some of those articles were awarded cash prizes from NASA.

In the late 1960s JD worked for Muskogee Iron Works were he designed towers and installed their first computer system. He programmed their computer system making him one of the first computer programmers there.

JD worked at Rockwell International in the 1970s where he did structural analysis of the B-1 Bomber. He was also one of a small group of engineers that did the structural analysis and design of the payload bay doors for the Space Shuttle using a new material that was a light weight carbon epoxy.

In the 1980s, JD worked at Unit Rig, manufacturing huge 23 ft wide off-highway, 250 ton, mining dump trucks. He supervised or managed various engineering units including structural design, structural analysis, drafting, hydraulics, pneumatics, test and development. This job allowed him to travel worldwide giving technical presentations in places such as Moscow, Yugoslavia, and Canada.

JD worked for the City of Tulsa from 1985 until he retired in 2000. He supervised the engineering unit's special projects including construction of four fire stations, renovations of all existing fire stations, animal shelter renovations, expansion of the adult and juvenile detention centers, and the C.O.B.R.A building. He really enjoyed chairing the renovation and expansion of the Convention Center, Gilcrease Museum and the Performing Arts Center.

JD could never sit around and soon started his own company offering his services as a Registered Professional Engineer. He had various engineering assignments including over 1,000 structural inspections of homes. He could be seen on the news or in the newspaper as an expert when an engineers opinion was wanted.

JD set high goals for himself, one of which was to be a great provider. He was married to Mary Ellen Turner for almost 25 years. They had four wonderful children together. He helped his son, Joe, with baseball and becoming an Eagle Scout. He coached softball for both of his daughters, Ann and Sue. JD and Mary Ellen enjoyed trips to National Parks with their young family, including spending a week in Death Valley. (Did he ever show you his photo of a black bear in the dark?)

JD was an inventor as well. One item he had a patent for was an electro-mechanical device for dispensing medications when appropriate so a person could live independently longer. One of the many rewards he received was an award of The Most Significant Invention in the Medical Field at an Oklahoma Inventors Convention for this dispenser.

JD and his late wife, O’Dean, enjoyed traveling, fishing, cards, golf, and dancing. They were members of Indian Springs Country Club and served on the board of directors including Treasurer.

He assisted our country again with FEMA when disaster struck several locations, Florida, Texas, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, and Georgia. He could evaluate a building to see if it was stable and then recommend how to improve the capability to withstand a storm in the future. He proposed a solution to save a building saving millions of dollars.

JD continued to write after he retired. He wrote a fiction book called "Site 2" that included many of the pieces of equipment he enjoyed through his career. He also wrote a book called "The Turners - A Pioneer Oklahoma Family" in collaboration with his son, Joe Turner. The book features the amazing stories of his grandfather, JD Turner, who came to Oklahoma before the land run. Grandfather JD did participate in the Land Run and help found the City of Edmond. JD and his son Joe also restored the old Turner Plantation Cemetery near Bethpage, TN that had been nearly destroyed by cattle.

JD volunteered many hours to help his community. He volunteered with CERT, Community Emergency Response Teams, in Tulsa. He spent many hours with the Red Cross helping folks that had a loss due to fire or other natural causes. He shared his knowledge of aerospace while volunteering at the Tulsa Air and Space Museum. He volunteered as a substitute school teacher in Broken Arrow Public Schools. JD volunteered weekly at St. Francis South Hospital. He recently started the role of Treasurer for the Widowed Persons Service.

JD had many wonderful friends, too numerous to list. One of his amazing friends, Jim Craig, was always there for him. Their lives had crossed paths many times without them knowing until they finally met at the City of Tulsa.

Life is about those who cross your path. Thank you for sharing your life with J.D. His family can’t wait to hear your stories.