Castellano Blanchet Turner

In Memory of Cass Turner

Please join us in celebrating Cass Turner's life! 9:30-11:30 Saturday, September 20th at Sacred Heart Parish 1317 Centre St, Newton, MA 02459. 12pm at Newton Cemetery 791 Walnut St, Newton, MA 02459.

Castellano Turner-Cass-was born in Chicago on June 14th 1938, the youngest of four siblings. After his father passed away when he was six, he and his mother Loretta and his siblings, June, Jimmy, and Precious endured great hardship. With the support of his family, the Catholic Church, and his own considerable talents, dad worked his way through two Degrees in Psychology at DePaul University and finished his studies with a Ph.D. at the University of Chicago.

His family was the center of his life and its main purpose. The love he had for his family was palpable. His sisters and brother he loved deeply; their closeness solidified through loving hardship. Together, they escaped poverty through education, hard work, and dedication to family.

Cass & Barbara were married in 1961 and enjoyed 64 years of marriage together. They were partners in life and in work. They raised two children (Adam & Shomari) in Amherst while working their way from associate to full professors during their time at Umass Amherst from 1968-1989. In 1989, Barbara, Shomari, and Cass moved to Newton so dad could start the Ph.D.clinical program in Psychology at Umass Boston, remaining there until Cass & Barbara's retirement in 2012 clocking in at a modest 44 year career.

His academic articles, achievements, and publications are too long to list here, but here are things that can be found online.

A small sample of his academic writings can be found at https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Castellano-Turner

His self-published memoir "Our Father Died" is available on Amazon.

Cass exemplified how moral goodness mixed in with academic pragmatism could create hope and joy for the people around them as well as the greater society. Cass had a generous spirit, and genuinely believed in helping others. While this was especially true for family and friends, he also had a strong calling to serve humanity. His community spirit could be seen in his volunteer work, often with the social justice committee of Sacred Heart Parish in Newton.

In his later years, Cass thoroughly enjoyed being grandpa for his three grandchildren, Ezekiel, Kieran, and Stellan. When his wife Barbara later needed greater support, Cass worked tirelessly for her. Rarely could one see a husband as dedicated to his wife as Cass was for Barbara. Their love is a model for all of us.

Cass was stoic, compassionate, and human. He was both proud and humble at the same time. He mentored certainly hundreds of graduate and doctoral students, particularly people of color. His service to his community, his students and colleagues, his wife, his children, his friends, his religious community, and most of all to his mother and siblings will be remembered. We were proud to have known and loved him.