Thomas Augustus Turley, Jr.

Thomas A. Turley, Jr., age 90, passed away on September 26, 2018, in Marion, North Carolina.  He was born and grew up in Wytheville, Virginia, and received a B.A. in history from Emory and Henry University.  In 1954, he moved to Oak Ridge, Tennessee, where he was employed for 31 years at K-25.  He was a longtime member of Trinity United Methodist Church and, later, Kern United Methodist Church in Oak Ridge.

At age 19, Mr. Turley married his high school sweetheart, Mary Catherine Coen, and they were together for 69 years before her death in 2017.  He is survived by one sister, Virginia Turley Baumgartner; two children, Thomas A. Turley, III (Paula) and Margaret Catherine Turley (Duke Turman); four grandchildren, Caitlin Mae Turman (Alexander Beisel), Dylan Thomas Turman, Catherine Ruth Turley, and Bryan Thomas Turley (Miyuki); and one great-grandchild, Maya Nakagawa Turley.

In the 1960’s, Mr. Turley served as a Scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop 327 in Oak Ridge, and he remained an enthusiastic hiker and golfer well into his seventies.  His other interests included reading history and visiting his favorite restaurant, Cracker Barrel.  He had a keen eye for a bargain and never turned down a dish of ice cream.  He will be sadly missed by the family he loved and by his many friends in Oak Ridge and elsewhere.  Burial will be at East End Cemetery in Wytheville, Virginia, with a graveside service to be held on Friday, October 12, 2018 at 2:00 P.M.