Keith Turner Obituary

October 1, 1951 – August 19, 2012

Keith Alan Turner passed away Sunday, August 19, 2012, after a short seven week battle with cancer

Keith was born in Inglewood on October 1, 1951 to Emelia and Kenneth Turner. He graduated from Cal Poly Pomona in 1974 with a degree in Urban Planning and began his career as a Planner for the City of Rancho Palos Verdes. Keith and his wife Clare moved to Ventura in 1979 where Keith continued his career at the County Government Center and served as the County Planning Director from 1987 through 2001.

After retirement, Keith continued public service with his 2005 appointments as a Commissioner to both the Ventura Port District and the Ventura County Transportation Commission.

Keith’s passion was the ocean. He spent time at sea in several capacities, including yacht racing, logging sea time in gaining his Captain’s License, and traveling extensively in domestic and foreign waters in his own beloved Equinox which he built and outfitted from a bare hull that served as home for six years.

Keith enjoyed many hobbies including model railroading, gardening and working on his home of 25 years. Keith had a great curiosity for learning and had numerous interests which contributed to his impressive depth of knowledge in so many subjects, including history, geography, astronomy, baseball, plants, maps and charts.