EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION
Laurence Lyon Turner was born January 23,1934 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He passed away peacefully in his sleep, October 24, 2017 in his home in Yorba Linda, CA. He died of complications of chemotherapy prescribed for treatment for a frontal lobe brain tumor. He preferred to be called Larry and was known to his grandchildren as Grandpapa. Born to Glenn and Carolyn Lyon Turner he had one sibling, Lois Janssen, nee Turner born 1930. His mother worked as a high school teacher and his father worked in finance at Carlisle.

He graduated from high school in 1951 at age 16, the class valedictorian. He played the flute, was first chair in the orchestra and a member of the band. He was active in student government and National Honor Society. His father did not allow him to play contact sports because he was concerned about physical injury and the cost of medical care. Larry's real love was football but he ran track, played tennis, and baseball.

His high school academic achievement and ROTC earned him a full scholarship to Harvard University. His counselor asked him to what university he was planning to apply. Larry told him University of Iowa and Iowa State. The counselor asked him why he didn't apply to Harvard or Yale. He replied his parents did not have the income to send him to these schools. He went with the counselor for a tour of Harvard and at the counselors urging applied. When he told his parents he had been accepted, his mother gasped. She said she was proud of him but said they could not afford for him to attend. It was then Larry told her he had been awarded a full four-year ROTC scholarship to Harvard. He majored in Math and Physics Applied Science and graduated at age 20 in 1955, cum laude.

After graduation he entered the US Navy, became an Engineering officer and served as a Lt. for three years (1955-1958) aboard a radar picket ship, USS Koiner on the west coast. He applied for submarine duty but was medically disqualified because of a deviated septum. He returned to Harvard in 1958 to pursue a graduate degree in Business Administration and graduated in 1960 with an MBA in the top third of his class. He was honorably discharged from the Navy in 1967 having served in the USN reserves for nine years.

WORK HISTORY
His business career began in banking then shifted to financial management for various companies serving as a controller and also as a vice president of finance. Larry was described by his superiors to have phenomenal analytical talent and was innovative, quiet, unassuming, and down-to-earth. In 1980 he became a partner in MDS Products, a dental products distribution firm. He worked there as President & CFO until he retired in 2007.

PERSONAL LIFE
In 1958 he married Merle Campbell. They divorced in 1971. Karen Helgesen and Larry were married in 1973 and tragically she died of lung cancer in 1977. He stayed with her three children, Danny, Kenny, and Cathy until they were 18 yrs., of age. He married Sharon Schooping in 1984 with three daughters, Laura, Stacey, Tricia. Her family would describe him as kind, loving and generous. He was an avid off-roader and had an uncanny sense for the location of unmarked roads which he was challenged to explore. He and Sharon enjoy three cruises as Larry so liked to be on the ocean. They enjoyed many trips with the Lazy Daze Caravan Club. His second home in Sedona, AZ was his paradise. Sadly, he was not able to be there when he passed away.

INTERESTS AND HOBBIES
• Interurban railroads of the Midwest
• Hiking
• Camping and motor home travel
• Off road exploration with his 1970 & 1980 Land
Cruiser (Mouse Patrol: off-road club)
• Conservative politics
• Economics
• Avid reader
• Sedona, AZ home

Larry is survived by his wife, Sharon, his sister Lois, four nephews Richard, Larry, Randy and Bill, a niece Sheryl, three great nephews Tony, Tim and Mark, a great niece Kristen, three step-daughters, Laura, Stacey, and Tricia and five granddaughters Emily, Hailey, Katie, Maya,
Hannah, and one grandson Wyatt.

Larry asked for his ashes to be spread on his property in Sedona, AZ. His family also felt a military burial of ashes at Miramar National Cemetery in Miramar, CA was appropriate. The day before he passed away the nurse asked him if he knew where he was. He replied, "I am aboard my ship in the Navy." Military services will be held Sunday, February 18, 2018.

Please join us in remembering Laurence. Through this site, we invite you to share your thoughts and fond memories with our family.