Jeffrey Patterson Turner

Jeffrey Patterson Turner, of Rison, passed away on Tuesday morning, August 9, 2022, at Jefferson Regional Medical Center at the age of 65.  He was born October 2, 1956, to Louise Patterson Turner (later Dawson) and Aubrey Leon Turner.  Jeff spent his youth in Rison participating in youth and high school sports, Boy Scouting and youth activities at the Rison Methodist Church.  In 1974, Jeff graduated from Rison High School as co-valedictorian of his class.  He went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from Loyola University in New Orleans and attend graduate school at Tulane.  

In 1987 Jeff returned to Arkansas and moved to Little Rock where he lived for several years.  After a brief period in Dallas, TX he returned home to Rison to live for the remainder of his life, where he was a businessman and entrepreneur.  

Jeff will be remembered as a kind, humble, compassionate and slightly eccentric individual who possessed an immeasurable wealth of knowledge.  He was that to be sure.  But to the fortunate few who knew him well, Jeff was a transcendentalist, a modern-day Thoreau.  Jeff loved the beauty and power of the human mind.  On many late nights he could be found comfortably at home reading books on philosophy, religion, and science, often into the wee hours of the morning.   He was more at ease reading at his kitchen table than at a boardroom lectern, although he would have distinguished himself equally well at either.  Jeff enjoyed simple living, and his home was his Walden.  For those fortunate enough to sit with him on a quiet evening discussing matters of the mind, one could not help but benefit from it, and if any question arose of which he was unsure, Jeff would but gaze upon his vast library of books until eventually making a reverent selection. He would then read from it until he found the information he sought.  Jeff was his own person, meticulous by nature but unaffected in spirit. On his journey through life, he chose his own path.  Jeff was blessed to have been accompanied on his life’s journey by the love of his life, Jo Anne, a woman of incalculable patience, love and understanding.  Jeff will surely be missed, but wherever there is the search for wisdom, a quest for knowledge, and good conversation, he will find a home.

Jeff is survived by his wife, Jo Anne, of Rison, and their children Anjinine and Kyle; a sister, Janet Turner Smalley of Henderson, Nevada; two brothers, Alexander B. Dawson and wife, Melanie, of Little Rock, and their children, Banks and Harper, and Bruce Dawson and wife, Leah, also of Little Rock, and their children Nicholas, MacKean, and Allie.  Jeff was preceded in death by his parents, Louise P. Dawson, Aubrey L. Turner, and A. Banks Dawson, and a brother, James (Jimmy) Aubrey Turner, all formerly of Rison.  

A visitation and memorial gathering will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 27, 2022, at the Fellowship Hall of the Rison Baptist Church, 300 East Magnolia St., Rison, Arkansas. 
Arrangements by Buie Funeral Home or Rison (870) 325-6216.

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