Robert E. Turner M.D. III

Robert E. Turner, III, MD
February 7, 2022
Florence, South Carolina - Robert Edward Turner, III, MD, died Monday, February 7, 2022, after a sudden illness. He was 76 years old.
He was born in Union, South Carolina, a son of the late Robert E. Turner, Jr., and Annis Shipman Turner. He was predeceased by a sister, Annis Hope Turner.
Dr. Turner attended the University of South Carolina on an athletic scholarship and was a member of the varsity track team as a hurdler. He was also a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He received a post-graduate NCAA grant to attend medical school, which he did at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston where he was a member of Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. He was drafted into the U.S. Army after completing medical school and served his residency in internal medicine at Fort Sam Houston and Fort Jackson. He returned to Charleston where he completed his fellowship in rheumatology and immunology at the Medical University of South Carolina.
Dr. Turner began his medical career in Columbia, but relocated to Florence where he practiced from 1986 until his retirement last year. During his tenure in Florence, he served a one-year term as Chief of Staff at McLeod Regional Medical Center and multiple terms on the State Board of Medical Examiners.
As a young man, Dr. Turner was a Boy Scout and earned the rank of Eagle Scout. He was a voracious reader. He spent many years being disappointed by Gamecock football teams, but even when the team lost, he always won the tailgate party.
He is survived by his wife, Mary Frances Turner of Florence; children: Robert E. Turner, IV (Autumn) and their daughter, Fiona, of Conway, Elizabeth Turner Rice (Clay) and their children, Emerson and Turner Rice, of Columbia, Lang Kelly and her children, Alex, Carter and Henry Kohel, also of Columbia, John Kelly (Ginny) and their children, Charlotte and Harper Kelly, of Mt. Pleasant; and a brother, John Shipman Turner (Pam) of Florence.
A memorial service will be held at 11:00 a.m., Friday, February 11, 2022, at Central United Methodist Church, after which the family will receive friends in the church commons area. Services are entrusted to Waters-Powell Funeral Home.
Memorials may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital at stjude.org/donate; or to Central United Methodist Church, 265 W. Cheves St., Florence, SC 29501.