John Pope Turtle

John P. Turtle of Auburndale, MA died on July 18 at Newton Wellesley Hospital with family members by his side.
Born in Boston on March 15, 1938 to William and Lydia Turtle, John developed a life-long love of the stars and planets. He graduated in 1956 from Noble and Greenough School and in 1960 from Brown University with a degree in astronomy, having also worked as a student assistant at the Maria Mitchell Observatory on Nantucket. In 1962, he spent the year working in the Antarctic at Byrd Station for the Arctic Institute of North America. While there he studied the Aurora Australis and its related geophysical phenomena. After that he worked for the US Air Force Research Laboratory for 43 years. Here he continued his research on upper atmospheric physics and aurora in Greenland and managed the collaboration between the Air Force and innovators from small businesses to develop antenna systems. John dearly loved music; he sang for many years with The Golden Tones and was a dedicated choir member at St Mary's Episcopal Church in Newton Lower Falls, MA. He enjoyed traveling and sharing his curiosity about the world and beyond with his family and friends.
John cherished his family both near and far. He is survived by his beloved wife Anne Rippy Turtle and their blended family that includes his daughters Elizabeth Turtle and her husband Ralph Lorenz, Sarah Turtle and her husband William Church, Daniel and Laura Rippy, Andrew and Sabrina Rippy, and Kurt Losert, and his siblings Nancy Turtle Rucker and Alfred Turtle. He is survived by nine grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his first wife Letitia Williams Turtle and his step-daughter Elisabeth Rippy. We will miss him dearly.
A service will be held at St Mary's Episcopal Church, Newton Lower Falls at 11:00 am on Friday August 15th 2025.
In lieu of flowers, donations in John's memory can be made to:
St Mary's Episcopal Church (https://www.st-marys-episcopal.org/): donations made to General Support Fund in John's name will be allocated to the music fund; to Revels (https://revels.org/) or to Boston Museum of Science (https://www.mos.org/)