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Michael John Turner
Michael John Turner
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Michael Turner Obituary
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Mike was born on December 6, 1957 to Jack and Ellen Turner in Heidelberg, Germany. He was the first born of 3 boys. Mike had dual citizenship, both German and American. He also spoke both languages. They relocated several times throughout his childhood as his father Jack, was in the US military. The family finally settled in Santa Barbara, CA. Mike graduated from Santa Barbara High School in 1975. He went on to study at UCSB, where he earned a major in Business Economics in 1979.
In 1995 Mike made Lake Zurich, Il his new home. While living in Illinois he found a career that really suited him. He joined Kennicott Brothers in the heart of Chicago in 2003. There he tended to and sold an array of tropical plants. This was really something he loved, including his customers.
He is survived by his mother Ellen Turner (Meinzer) of Santa Barbara CA, two brothers, Eric (Diane) Turner of Santa Ynez CA and Paul Turner of Santa Barbara CA, His four children, Robin (Juan) Madera-Turner, Megan Turner both of Colorado Springs CO, Taylor (Melissa) Tuner of Antioch IL, and Kevin (Olivia Turner) of Racine WI. Thirteen grandchildren, Tasia, Xavier, RyAnn, Andres, Martin, Anthony, Arriana, Neveah, Angelo, Athena, Armando, Aurora, and Adrian. One great-grandchild Zaiden.
Mike was an intellectual, bright, loving, caring, man who loved music, books and cars. He will be missed by all. A celebration of Life service will be held at a later time in Santa Barbara, CA.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
JW LANDSCAPES LLC
July 5, 2024
To all who knew and loved Michael and especially to his family,
Michael will be missed tremendously by those of us in the floral/landscaping industry. He truly was an institution and helped so many of us and always with such kindness.
Our small business was all the more successful thanks to his curating such wonderful plant varieties and of quality.
I know we all were just shocked to hear of his passing and so many of us never got a chance to say goodbye or even wish him a speedy recovery. Such is the way sadly and so thank you for posting his obituary to give us a chance to tip our hats, hold our hearts and give thanks for knowing him through the years.
He will be, and already is missed and going to Kennicotts each week is not the same anymore with him gone. So glad his memory and his legacy lives on in more than just an address and a place of business. He was one quality human being.
Thank you
Mark Meinzer
June 3, 2024
I am Mike's 61 year old younger cousin, Mark Meinzer. Just a few memories of Mike growing up.
When he was going to high school here in Santa Barbara, he lived in our grandparents house next door. As a kid, 5 years younger than Mike, I would pester him as he was like a cool older brother. Mike was always so kind and patient with me, as not too many teenagers I know would want to hang out with their 12 year old cousin.
A couple of my fondest memories of him involved music and cars. He always had a great taste for music, and also owned a turntable and had lots of great albums. I remember sitting in his little room listening to Elton John's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road album right after it was released. He explained to me all the references to Marilyn Monroe and Roy Rogers on the album that I did not understand. He also introduced me to the off color humor of Cheech and Chong. I felt like such the rebel.
Most memorable was that he allowed me to hang out in the garage while he worked on his beloved 69 Roadrunner. It was a classic muscle car, straight out of the movies, with a loud exhaust and the fattest tires you have ever seen. To be a 12 year old kid, hanging out with older teenage boys, while wrenching on a muscle car is every kids dream.
My fondest memory of that time was when we had to drive his car to the muffler shop to get a new muffler installed. Since the car had no muffler, the mile journey to the muffler shop created quite a noise. You cannot imagine how loud an American V-8 muscle car engine is without a muffler. As we road down the street, windows rattled, and people came out from their houses to see what all the loud racket was about. My 12 year old self was in heaven.
So that is how I want to remember Mike, riding his big beautiful blue 1969 Plymouth Roadrunner without a muffler riding down Anapamu Street to Heaven. God bless and rest in peace Mike. Love ya.
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Carmen Jungmann
June 2, 2024
Unsere Erinnerungen an Michael sind voll fröhlicher Momente, die wir zusammen verbracht haben. Wir vergessen nie, wieviel wir zusammen gelacht haben. Deine liebevolle Art und Dein Humor bleibt uns ewig in Erinnerung.
Dear Michael! We miss you and the happiness you brought to our lives when we spent time together.
Hannelore, Carol with family, Carmen und Uwe
Carmen Jungmann
June 2, 2024
Carmen Jungmann
June 2, 2024
Carmen Jungmann
June 2, 2024
Carmen Jungmann
June 2, 2024
Marko Meinzer
May 30, 2024
Lieber Michael, du warst ein wunderbarer Mensch. Auch wenn wir uns hier in Deutschland nicht oft sehen konnten, sind wir immer in Kontakt geblieben. Du wirst in unseren Herzen immer weiter leben. Da ich Pflanzen so liebe wie du, denke ich immer im Garten an Dich. In Erinnerung Rita Dieter und Marko
Tina Givens
May 28, 2024
On top of being a warm kind person and easy to talk to this man loved his music.... My all-time favorite DJ. Mike you are truly going to be missed.
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31632 N. Ellis Drive Unit 209, Round Lake, IL 60073
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