John C. Turin

1944 - 2023

News Story
By Mark Zaborney
Blade Staff Writer

John C. Turin, a lawyer who channeled his skill at argument to the benefit of clients and found satisfying the self-sufficiency of his solo law practice, died Oct. 25 in his Sylvania home. He was 79.

The precise cause isn't known, his son, John J. Turin, said. He had heart and other health problems and battled loneliness since the death in April of his wife of 48 years, Sharlotte. When found, he was dressed as though ready to go and exercise.

"Up until the day he passed, he was at the gym three to four days a week," the younger Mr. Turin said.

Daughter Ashley Turin-Dynan said: "It made him feel much better, even if he was having an off day."

Mr. Turin, admitted to the bar in 1970, according to an Ohio Supreme Court online database, retired about five years ago from his practice in Sylvania Township.

He handled family law cases to start, his son said, but through the prime of his career, he represented clients in personal injury cases, did some criminal defense work, and handled mediation.

"He was a very straight shooter with people," the younger Mr. Turin said. "If somebody thought they had something, and they didn't, he would tell them. He was honest and hard-working and meticulous with what he did.

"He liked people. He liked to talk. He liked to argue," he said. "He also liked helping people. When I was younger, he took me everywhere, and we couldn't go anywhere without him running into a few people he knew."

He understood both sides of personal injury cases, for instance, Ms. Turin-Dynan said.

"He was pretty good at winning an argument," she said.

His help didn't depend on a client's cash flow. Through the years, he accepted payment in pheasants a client had bagged on a hunting trip and in steaks.

"He was always the champion for the underdog," his sister Talia Turin Yates said.

He valued taking his career into his own hands and working for himself, his daughter said.

"He taught me to do things my own way, and he was really proud that he didn't go the route of the big corporations," Ms. Turin-Dynan said. "He joked he could have made a whole lot more money, and there's more to life than making lots of money."

Donald Petroff, a retired Oregon Municipal Court judge and a former Oregon mayor, first got to know Mr. Turin as a fellow lawyer.

"He was very intelligent and was focused on whatever case he was working on. He was disciplined in his approach," said Mr. Petroff, noting that their differing political allegiances - he a Republican and Mr. Turin a Democrat - often prompted conversation.

Both shared an interest in shooting sporting clays at Adams Conservation Club in Springfield Township, where they were members, and elsewhere. Mr. Turin also was the club's attorney.

"He was a fun guy to be around and had an interesting sense of humor. We would love to pick at each other," Mr. Petroff said.

Mr. Turin had been a member of the Toledo Ski Club and of the North Cape Yacht Club in Monroe County's LaSalle Township.

"My dad was never scared of anything," Ms. Turin-Dynan said. "He got both of us kids certified in scuba diving so we could enjoy a trip to the Bahamas, and I was only 13. There are things and experiences I don't think I would have ever done if he hadn't been so adventurous."

John Craig Turin was born July 13, 1944, to Gladys Johnson and John Joseph Turin and was a graduate of Sylvania High School. He received a bachelor's degree in psychology and his law degree from the University of Toledo. His father, at his death in 1973, was dean of the UT graduate school and director of the Ritter Astrophysical Research Center.

"What impressed me was he was like his dad, a very smart guy," said Sybil Turin, his stepmother.

He was a veteran of the Ohio Air National Guard.

He and the former Sharlotte Rae Sauer married April 19,1975. She died April 7, 2023.

Surviving are his son, John J. Turin; daughter, Ashley Turin-Dynan; stepmother, Sybil Turin; sisters Talia Yates, Jennifer Duryea, and Beth Duryea; brother, David Turin, and two grandchildren.

A memorial party to celebrate his life will be held from 3-6 p.m. Sunday at the Toledo-Sylvania Elks Lodge, 3520 Holland-Sylvania Rd. Arrangements are by the Reeb Funeral Home.

The family suggests tributes to North Cape Yacht Club's Sailing School scholarship fund or the UT college of law scholarship program.