BATON ROUGE, La. – (AP) Funeral services were recently held for Richard Turnley Jr., the first black member elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives from Baton Rouge in modern times and a founder of the Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus.
Tamara Turnley Robinson said her father died Jan. 19 at Our Lady of the Lake Hospital after a long illness. He was 79.
“He was a wonderful father,” Robinson told The Associated Press. “He suffered a stroke about four years ago that left him with some impairment.”
Turnley, who represented Scotlandville and other north Baton Rouge communities, served three terms in the Louisiana House before being elected in 1984 to District 14 of the state Senate. He was one of the 10 founding members of the Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus in 1977.
“He was very committed to what he liked to call `the beloved community,”’ Robinson recalled. “He was really devoted to doing whatever he could to improve the lives of those who had the least.
“I remember one of the things he did was he started a food co-op in the early `70s. It was hard to get fresh fruits and vegetables in that part of Baton Rouge and he recognized the need to do so. He was fairly progressive for the time.”
Rep. Chuck Kleckley, speaker of the Louisiana House, said Turnley was “a leader of conscience and compassion, and was an able and gifted representative of his constituents.”
“Mr. Turnley dedicated his entire life to advocating for those most in need. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this difficult time,” Kleckley said in a written statement.
Joe Delpit, a former state representative and longtime friend who started working with Turnley in the 1960s in a community group under President Lyndon B. Johnson’s “war on poverty,” told The Advocate that Southern University was one of Turnley’s main priorities.
“He did everything he could to ensure Southern got proper funding for the law school, the library, the education program and the other programs. He understood that education was the way to better the community,” Delpit said.
Southern University System President Ronald Mason, in a statement Wednesday, said the university community had lost a dedicated public servant.
“In the nearly 51 years since his undergraduate years at Southern, Mr. Richard Turnley Jr. remained ever true to his alma mater, supporting the university through his commitment and service,” Mason said.
But Delpit, laughing, suggested Turnley may have championed the university a bit too well. Turnley was defeated in 1987 by Cleo Fields, then a 24-year-old graduate of Southern University Law Center running for his first elected office.
“The pendulum started to swing another way and a new generation wanted to come up,” Delpit said. “He made that possible.”
“This city, this state is better off because of Dick Turnley and his courage,” said Fields, a former U.S. congressman who now is a Baton Rouge lawyer. He told the newspaper, “He was a trailblazer. He opened up so many doors. I had an opportunity to serve because he opened up those doors.”
In addition to Robinson, Turnley is survived by his wife of 55 years, Joyce Huntsberry Turnley of Baton Rouge; two other children, Sharon Turner of Dallas and Richard Turnley III of Atlanta; and six grandchildren.
A wake was scheduled at Hall Davis and Sons Funeral Home with funeral services at Camphor Memorial United Methodist Church.
Be the first to comment