Lifelong Riverhead resident Walker “Sonny” Turner died April 3, 2014. He was 83 years old.
Born in Riverhead on Nov. 4, 1930, he was the sun of Walker and Martha Turner. He attended Riverhead public schools and was a member of the Riverhead High School graduating class of 1950. He married his high school sweetheart, Hattie Mayo, on June 8, 1952.
Turner worked for the U.S. Postal Service for 30 years. Upon his retirement, he worked for 14 years at Suffolk County National Bank. After he retired from the bank, he devoted his time to photography, which he loved. He shot group photos for the local fire departments, and worked as a freelancer for Fire News.
He was a 30-year volunteer with the Riverhead Volunteer Ambulance Corps and also volunteered as a counselor for inmates at the Suffolk County Correctional Facility in Riverside.
In addition to his wife of 61 years, Turner is survived by his sons, Michael and Brian; by his sisters, Evelyn Shannon, of Riverhead, and Martha Arch, of Southampton; and by eight grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
Visitation and services will be held Saturday, May 3 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Riverhead Fire Department. See details.
Donation in his memory may be made to Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses of Riverhead, Riverhead Volunteer Ambulance Corps or East End Hospice.
