Lawrence Turnock

TURNOCK, Lawrence C., age 93, died peacefully on January 12, 2013. Born in Pittsburgh, he and his family moved to Cleveland Heights in 1926. Mr. Turnock graduated from Cleveland Heights High School in 1937 and Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1941. His major was chemical engineering, and he was elected in his junior year to Tau Beta Pi, the national engineering honor society. He also earned five undergraduate letters in track and cross country and was awarded a "T" for excellence in sports. Mr. Turnock was one of the five in his graduating class to receive the William Barton Rogers Award, named for MIT's founder, for outstanding academic and extracurricular activities. Upon graduation, after four years of training in ROTC, Mr. Turnock was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant. He continued another year at MIT, earning a masters in chemical engineering practice. He was called to active duty before the graduation ceremony and assigned to the Army Chemical Corps. He met his wife-to-be, Jane Hunter, in December 1941, and they were married at Grace Lutheran Church in May 1943. Released from active duty with the rank of Major, Mr. Turnock remained active in the Army Reserves until 1950. He attended Case Western Reserve Law School under the G.I. Bill, graduating in 1948. He passed the Ohio Bar Exam the same year and joined the Cleveland Bar Association, becoming a life member in 1999. From 1949-1959 he practiced patent law, registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. He left that practice to serve as an attorney and executive in Cleveland-based iron ore companies. At retirement in 1989, Mr. Turnock was the President of the American Iron Ore Association. Committed outside the office as well, he served for 29 years 1959-1988 on the board of Lutheran Medical Center, from 1971-1974 as its Chair. He joined Grace Lutheran Church in 1949, the church of his wife's family for several generations, and served as its President from 1951-1960 and as Chair of its Building Committee from 1979-1992. Mr. Turnock was an active member of Rotary Club of Cleveland beginning in 1976. An avid golfer into his 90s, he joined the Mayfield Country Club in 1965. He moved into the ranks of senior golfers from a low handicap of eight; at age 68 his handicap was nine. Mr. Turnock was predeceased by his loving wife in 2009, his sister Mary-Thomas Jaeger in 2004, and his son-in-law Matthew Shipman in 2010. He is survived by four devoted daughters, Judith L. Turnock, Susan T. Mackenzie, Mary-Thomas Turnock and Elizabeth A. Turnock, son-in-law Byron C. Yoburn, all of New York City, and five grandchildren, Emily Parker, Christopher Shipman, Megan Yoburn, Timothy Shipman and Elizabeth Yoburn, nephews John T. Jaeger and Philip W. Jaeger, and nieces Melinda Jaeger Bickers and Nancy Hunter. He will forever be remembered for his steadfast devotion to his family and his church. A memorial service will be held in Grace Lutheran Church, 13001 Cedar Road, Cleveland Heights, OH 44118, at 1 pm on Saturday, February 2, 2013. The family will receive friends at a reception in the Turnock home in Chagrin Falls immediately following the service. In lieu of flowers, donations to Grace Lutheran Church in memory of Lawrence Turnock would be welcomed.


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