Mr. James Turner

Mr. James Turner

James Turner, 96, longtime resident of Malden, passed away Saturday, June 11, 2011 at the Old Solders Home in Chelsea He was born in 1915 in Nova Scotia Canada, the son of Ferdinand and Clara (Buck) Turner. James moved to Malden around the age of 7, where he attended the local schools and graduated from Malden High School. In 1942, James enlisted in the US Army and helped our countries fight in WWII. He saw action all around Europe and North Africa with the 424th Infantry Regiment. He was awarded 6 Silver Stars and one Arrowhead for his service. He was discharged in October of 1945. He soon married his sweetheart, Cyrilla "Jean" Alves in a ceremony at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Malden. The two settled down in Malden to raise their family and became active members of the community. James was a 55 year Master Mason with the Mt. Vernon-Galilean Lodge in Malden, and also became a member of the Aleppo Temple Shrine. He was also a member of the Elks Club of Malden, the American Legion Post 69 of Malden and Post 0258 of Green Acres FL:, a member of the Kiwanis Club of Malden and a member of the Malden Eagles Aerie893 . In addition, he was active with St. Paul's Episcopal Church, serving for many years with the Vestry of the church, as well as handling the maintenance of their heating system. James had started his own oil company, Turner Oil of Malden, and he successfully ran the business with his wife Jean until his retirement. Even after his formal retirement, he assisted other oil companies for many years. In 1978, James and Jean moved from Malden to North Reading for a short time, before retiring to Florida. While in Flordia, James joined the VFW of Green Acres, FL, and was a Past Commander of the group. James returned to the Malden area after the passing of his wife Jean in 2005, and eventually moved into the Solders Home of Chelsea.

He is survived by his daughter, Linda C. Buttaro of Malden, his granddaughter, Paula J. Carroll of CT, and his great grandsons, Justin, Jordan, and Jared, his nephews, Robert Turner of Wilmington, Jack Turner of Hudson, NH, and Norman Turner of FL, and his nieces, Dianne Polizzotti of Dracut and Rosemary McGregor of FL.

James was preceded in death by his wife Jean, his son, Paul R. Smith; and his brothers Leonard Turner and Ernest Turner.

Visitation will be at Weir - MacCuish Funeral Home 144 Salem Street, Malden on Wednesday, June 15th, from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM

Funeral services will be held Thursday, June 16th, at 11:00 AM at the funeral home. Interment will follow in Puritan Lawn Cemetery, Malden.

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