Richard Turner

Jonah Richard Turner, 85, of Norwood, passed away Friday, January 2, 2026 at home, surrounded by his loving family. He is now reunited with his oldest daughter, Kendra, his baby son, Jeff, his sister, Shelvia, and his parents, Henry and Louise Turner. 

He is survived by his loving wife of 64 years, Mary Emily Turner of the home. His daughter, Melissa Jo Huneycutt and husband Scottie; grandchildren: Megan and Phil DePasquale, Seth and Alicia Todd, and Wesley Huneycutt. His great-grandchildren: Matthew Todd and Turner DePasquale; and one sister, Dolly Turner. He was a special ‘Pa’ to his whole family! 

A funeral service will be held at 2:00 PM on Wednesday, January 7, 2026 at Edwards Funeral Home Chapel, with full Military Honors to follow. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service. A burial will be held at a later date. 

SGM-Sergeant Major Jonah Richard Turner was a 30 year Army Soldier. He finished boot camp at Ft. Bening, GA. Then he went to jump school at Ft. Bragg, NC. He then continued as a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division. He went to Okinawa and jumped all over Asia. After that, he went to US Army Special Forces, serving in all groups and traveled the world to help problems wherever the special forces were needed. He served 3 years in the Vietnam War and was wounded 2 times with purple hearts. He has 5 Bronze star Medals from Vietnam and 2 Silver Star nominations. After the war, he was a HALO instructor at Ft. Bragg, NC. He loved that job because he loved to jump. He had over 4,000 parachute jumps in a log. He also did sport parachute jumps. 

Later,  he went to Germany to be a First Sergeant of A Co. 1st 30th Infantry that he named Apace Co. and his company excelled. He did so well, he was picked by General Dyke to be SGM of Cummer Exercise for all European Training at Geofravear, Germany. He made SGm with 17 years in. His next assignment was Con Barracks DIC where he ran it all. Next homeward bound, Appalachian State, the SGTM for ROTC there. Transferred to Davidson College, Davidson, NC to be the instructor of ROTC there. He retired with 30 years on April 30, 1988. 

During his term, he earned 4 more Bronze Star Medals, parachute Badge, Distinguished Service Cross, 2 purple hearts, Vietnam Service Cross, all kinds of ‘I was there’ badges. His chest was full! He was truly a proud American who loved his country and fought to keep us free, as well as other peoples, too!. ‘God Bless the USA’ was one of his favorite songs by Lee Greenwood. He formed many friendships around the world and treasured them all. He was a quiet religious man, but he knew who his God and savior was and was ready to meet his maker. 

Before his decline, he was an avid coastal fisherman. He loved sharing with friends, his boat trips out on the Ocean to fish and our place at Cape Lookout. We would have 4th of July fish fryes for family and friends . He loved sharing his fish! 

A special thank you for Connie Green and Franklin Boyles for helping take care of Jonah Richard during his last years. The family would also like to extend a sincere appreciation and thank you to the veterans administration of Salisbury, NC; for their care and support of the SGM. 

If you wish to send a donation, they made to Tillery Compassionate Care, 960 N. 1st Street, Albemarle NC, 28001 OR Stanly County Humane Society, 2049 Badin Road, Albemarle NC 28001, or the charity of your choice!

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