October 03, 1922 - November 20, 2004

ALBANY - Don Turnidge, 82, went to his heavenly home Saturday evening November 20, 2004 as his longtime battle with cancer ended. His wife Ruth and daughters Cathy and Candace were at his side at his peaceful passing.

Don was born in Albany, Oregon, the son of Henry and Pauline Turnidge and lived most of his life in the mid-Willamette Valley area. He graduated from Jefferson High School and then attended Brown Military Academy in San Diego until the bombing of Pearl Harbor when he joined the Army Air Corps.

In September 1943, he married Ruth Overholser in Glendale, California.

He served his country in World War II as a P-51 Mustang fighter pilot and was based in England. He was shot down over Germany and was a Prisoner of War in Stalag 1 in northern Germany for nine months. Upon his return from the war, he began farming with his father, Henry, and brother Gordon in the Talbot and Dever communities. During that time, they also had a camp for troubled boys from the Salem court system. He especially enjoyed farming peppermint and eventually founded his own company to directly market peppermint oil.

Throughout his life, Don was known to all as a man with a zest for life. He was a generous, fun-loving philanthropist who inspired many people to reach their full potential in life. Most important to him was sharing his faith in Jesus.

He is survived by his wife, of 61 years, Ruth; and his children, Cathy (John) Wendel, Candace (Dave)Hyatt and Richard (Pat)Turnanski. He is also survived by a loving group of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

A celebration of his life will be held at Dever-Conner Community Church, 32579 Dever-Conner Drive, Albany, OR on Monday, November 29, 2004 at 1:00 PM.

Source: Corvalis Gazette Times