Michael Parker Turner

Michael "Mike" Parker Turner -exited this life on February 10, 2026, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, surrounded by love… disbelief… and a long list of stories. Born October 19, 1956, in Franklin, Virginia, he was the son of the late Ollie "Fennon" Turner and Beuna "Faye" Daughtrey Turner. He was preceded in death by his brother, Daniel P. Turner.

Mike spent most of his working years in automotive sales and management, where he thrived. He could read a room, read a person, and read the numbers - usually in that order. He sold cars with confidence, precision, and just enough charm to make you forget you were being sold to. If life were a dealership, Mike always preferred to be on the sales side of the desk.
His real talent, however, may have been juggling. Not objects - commitments. At times, it seemed he was attempting to set a world record. Credit where it's due - the man had stamina.

Mike possessed a razor-edged sense of humor. Quick. Strategic. Occasionally devastating. If you were the punchline, you knew it immediately. His comedy was delivered with the confidence of a man who had never doubted himself a single day in his life.

And then there was the voice. When he sang, rooms shifted. For a few minutes, everything softened. It was the version of him that felt unguarded. That voice - rich, steady, unexpectedly tender - is a memory that many of us will lean into.

He leaves behind the family who loved him through clarity, not illusion: his daughters, Heather Crouch and her husband Chad, and Erica Turner and her husband John Lee; eight grandchildren Justin, Jessika, Hayden, Jordan, Allie, Maighan, Lydia & Jones; and six great-grandchildren. Loving Mike required range - patience, humor, boundary-setting, and occasionally a deep exhale. His daughters stand grounded, intact, and relatively sane - proof that resilience is sometimes inherited through opposition.
He is also survived by his brothers, Mark and David Turner, who undoubtedly have their own carefully edited highlight reels.
Mike was previously married to DD Turner and Kitty Hughes - both strong women who share chapters of his history and who earned lifetime achievement awards in endurance.

Let's be honest: he was charismatic, exhausting, generous at times, selfish at others, funny, frustrating, magnetic, and impossible to ignore. He could light up a room - and occasionally burn it down. He lived loudly, loved imperfectly, and rarely apologized with full conviction. And still - he was ours.

Dad, we love you. Not blindly. Not naively. We love you for who you were and in spite of who you were. We know that you are at peace for which you spent a lifetime searching
And please - wherever you are - break one of those $100 bills! - when you say,
"You got a 20? I don't wanna break one of these hundreds," we hope someone finally smiles and says," Sure. I've got five twenties. Trade?"
And then waits….

In your honor we'll say the inappropriate thing out loud and pretend we meant it as a joke. Confidence bordering on chaos - that was your signature.

We encourage everyone to celebrate Mike by taking time to make someone slightly uncomfortable in the most charming way possible. Hold eye contact a beat too long or even deliver a line you probably shouldn't.

A gathering of family and friends will be held Thursday, February 26, 2026, from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. at Wright Funeral Home, 206 West Fourth Avenue, Franklin, Virginia 23851.