Albert W. Turner

Albert W. Turner of Davidsonville, Maryland, passed away at Anne Arundel Medical Center on Wednesday, March 20, 2019.Born on October 24, 1916 in Gambrills, Anne Arundel County, Maryland, Mr. Turner was the son of Albert H. and Helen (Linthicum) Turner. He is survived by his wife of 77 years, Therese L. Gauthier Turner, his children, Louise S. Odom (John); Madeleine C. Turner and Glenn A. Turner; his grandchildren, Suzanne Mendez (Abel), Sean Kelly, Ian Kelly (Jennifer), Walter Neil (Laura), and Danny Neil (Nadia); his great-grandchildren Julia Mendez, Luke Mendez, Lily Neil, Claire Neil, Turner Neil, Kyle Neil, Walter Kelly and Wesley Kelly. He was preceded in death by his grandson, David Neil.Starting his business activities at an early age, Mr. Turner delivered one hundred copies of the daily newspaper to customers in his neighborhood in Anne Arundel County. Following his father into the carpentry and construction business, he began building homes in the area prior to service in the United Sates Navy "Seabees" Construction Battalion in the South Pacific during World War II, receiving an Honorable Discharge in 1945.Returning to Maryland after 33 months of military service, Mr. Turner continued to build homes and commercial properties in and around Prince George's County. He developed and constructed with MCD Employee Associates over 17,000 residential dwellings in the communities of New Carrollton, Lewisdale, Hollywood, Calverton, Kettering, Enterprise Estates, Kingsford, Hammond Village, Town and Country Village, Oak Creek, Canterbury Riding, as well as Prospect Plantation in Queen Anne's County, Cherrywood of Olney and Olney Mill in Montgomery County. Mr. Turner incorporated the City of New Carrollton in 1953 and served as its first mayor.As owner of Carrollton Enterprises, his portfolio of shopping centers included Largo Plaza Shopping Center, Kettering Plaza Shopping Center, Carrollton Shopping Center, Shoppes at New Carrollton, Laurel Town Center, Coventry Plaza in Clinton, Hollywood Plaza Shopping Center in College Park, and the Calverton Shopping Center in Beltsville. He also built the Calverton Tower office building and managed restaurants in the area including Kangaroo Katies in Greenbelt and La Plata Grande Restaurants in Calverton, Columbia, Ocean City, Maryland and Richmond, Virginia. He was the former owner and manager of the Sheraton Hotel in New Carrollton, the Ramada Inn in Calverton, the Bahia Mar Yachting Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, as well as Millsboro Motors in Delaware, the Washington School for Secretaries in Washington D.C., and The Computer Learning Centers in Virginia and California.Albert Turner served as a member of the Executive Committee and Board of Directors of Citizens Bank of Maryland (now SunTrust Bank) over a 40-year period, as well as the University of Maryland Board of Regents from 1980 to 1984; Board of Directors of Dimensions Healthcare, member and past president of Suburban Maryland Home Builders Association and Metropolitan Washington Builders Association, member of the Maryland Higher Education Commission from 1988 to 1992; past Chairman of the Prince George's County Economic Development Committee; the Prince George's County United Way Campaign, the Prince George's County Chamber of Commerce, the Hyattsville Lions Club; and the Special Gifts Division of the Southern Maryland Heart Association.Mr. Turner formed Chesapeake Investors, Inc., a publicly owned company, in 1973 and was Chairman of the Board until its dissolution in 2005.He enjoyed golf, fast automobiles and spending time with his family and friends.A viewing will be held on April 3rd, 2019 at Hines-Rinaldi Funeral Home, located at 11800 New Hampshire Avenue, Silver Spring, Maryland, during the hours of 2:00 to 4:00 pm and 6:00 to 8:00 pm.Funeral services will be held at the United Baptist Church, 7701 Riverdale Road, New Carrollton Maryland, on Thursday, April 4th, 2019 at 10:30 a.m., with burial at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, 13801 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, Maryland.In lieu of flowers, it is requested that contributions be made to the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine or Anne Arundel Medical Center Foundation's Institute for Healthy Aging.