Terry Turner

November 12, 1946 - February 27, 2021

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Shelby Wheeler “Terry” Turner was born in Texarkana, Arkansas, on November 12, 1946 to Shelby Wood Turner and Elizabeth Maude Cowl. His parents had moved to Texarkana from St. Albans, West Virginia, for his father to work at Red River Army Depot.

The family lived in Wake Village through his grade school years. Terry attended high school at Texas High, where he excelled in theater and loved baseball. His acting talent allowed him to attend the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York for a brief period. After his service in the United States Navy during the Vietnam War, he returned to Texarkana and attended Texarkana College, where he met his wife, Brenda. He attended Baylor University in Waco and graduated from Texas Tech University in Lubbock with a BA in Journalism. Terry incorporated his love of sports into a newspaper career as a sportswriter.

Terry and Brenda married May 25, 1974, and settled in Texarkana following their college years. They founded Ramblin’ Rose Florist in the Pleasant Grove area and Terry worked at Cooper Tire and Rubber Company for many years.

Appointed by Governor Mike Huckabee to the Arkansas Workers’ Compensation Commission in 2001, Terry served as the labor representative on the Commission for six years. While at the Commission, he was instrumental in creating Kids’ Chance of Arkansas, a scholarship program for the dependents of deceased and permanently disabled workers.

Following his service in state government, Terry retired to Siloam Springs, Arkansas, with Brenda, who is employed by DaySpring Cards, a subsidiary of Hallmark Cards.
A lifelong baseball fan, Terry considered Cooperstown, New York, the home of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, as one of the most special places on earth. While living in Little Rock, Terry was a founding member of the Robinson-Kell Chapter of the Society for American Baseball Research. He authored one book, Baseball in Little Rock, about the Arkansas Travelers minor league baseball team. He was extremely pleased to be a multiple champions of his fantasy baseball league.

Terry is survived by his sister’s sons, Ty Snelling and wife Prissy, Clay Snelling and wife Chrissy, Troy Snelling and wife Elizabeth; his cousins Anne McElhinny and Mary Margaret Sampson; Brenda’s siblings, Diane Reeves, Kay Hall, Sheri Cook, and Kevin Myers; his nieces Loren Reeves, Megan Watson, Morgan Raffray, and Kaitlyn Cook; his nephews Justin Reeves, Matthew Hall, and Marshall Hall.

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