Jan Turner

Jan Kygar Turner was born September 17, 1944 to Paul Hyde Turner and Reba Mary Kygar Turner.  His earthly existence ended August 28, 2018.  His life was always centered in Morgan, Utah.

Jan’s early years were spent learning the ways of his father and grandfather as he watched them milk cows and cultivate fields.  He loved his dog and at the age of eight, he earned his first cow. Baseball, boxing and track were favorite activities.

Jan enjoyed his high school years and took advantage of many opportunities to be involved in FFA and 4-H where he experienced personal growth, developed leadership skills and expanded his knowledge of agriculture.  These years had a lasting impact for him as he served in Utah State FFA leadership positions and was then selected to serve as FFA National Vice President in 1963-64 from the Pacific Region.  He also earned the National Dairy Farmer of America awarded by FFA.

Jan married Francis Burton on September 9, 1966 in the Salt Lake Temple.  They are the parents of ten children.  Jan graduated from Utah State University in the spring of 1967 with a degree in Political Science and a minor in History.  That fall, he began teaching history and debate at Davis High School while still milking Jersey cows before and after a day of teaching.   His formal teaching career was short-lived as he found that dairy farming along with growing alfalfa, grain, corn, and potatoes was his chosen vocation.

Jan was active in Utah Farm Bureau where he served on National, State, and local Boards.  He also had the opportunity to represent Utah Rotary as a member of an International Exchange team to Israel in 1978.

Jan poured considerable energy into Civic involvement; serving as a Morgan City Councilman and as a member/chairman of the Morgan County Commission. He headed the effort to have the Morgan Public Safety Building built, had oversight on building the Morgan County Library & Senior Citizen Center, and along with Pamela Turner, he spearheaded the drive to construct a secondary water system in Morgan City.  He had oversight to connect the springs within Morgan City to expedite the delivery of water to Morgan citizens, and had a drain system engineered for the city.

Jan served on the Board of Davis Applied Technology Center for ten years and served as the Board President for 8 years.  He served on the Governor’s Board of Public Education; served on Dairy related boards and as Ditch Company officer, as well as water ditch master for many years.

Jan spent free time loading bullets and shooting at the gun range.  He enjoyed studying the genetics of cattle, and he always had a myriad of farming magazines or history books or religious writings which he was studying.  He enjoyed the accomplishment of a hard days’ work which he was taught to appreciate by his Dad and Grandfather, and which he hoped to pass on to his children and grandchildren.  His family will miss him in the coming years at family gatherings and especially when we all get together to harvest a mountain of the best corn ever!

Jan loved his large and growing family of ten children, thirty-six grandchildren, three great-grandchildren – all with noble foreheads.  He always had coins or a bullet casing in his pocket to hand out to his grandchildren and his grandchildren loved the days when he would take them to the fields and teach them to drive his pickup truck.  He was exceptionally pleased with the educational achievements of his children and grandchildren and what they were learning was often a topic of conversation.

Beyond the work of farming or public service, Jan loved shooting the breeze with anyone who stopped to tell stories, to laugh for a while and solve all the world’s problems, sometimes he even called the White House to pass along the solutions he and his friends devised.

We will miss his voice saying: “This is Jan” on his cell phone or “Let’s get ‘er done” or singing ‘Could I Have This Dance’.

He is survived by his wife of 52 years, five sons:  Lane (Amy), Aaron (Jill), Ryan, (ShaNell), Jonathon (Jessica), Spencer (Kristal) and four daughters: Reba (William) Branch, Samantha Turner, Allison (Chad) Gonzales, April (Sean) FitzGerald: four sisters: Marsha Ann Martin, Merrilee Hopkin, Wendy Turner, Kirsten (Curtis) Ball.  He was preceded in death by his daughter Robyn (Ken) Cruff and his parents.

Jan was a member of the Morgan 12th Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  He enjoyed teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ and he especially enjoyed doing ‘home teaching’.

The Family of Jan wish to say Thank You to each kind friend who stopped to visit with him in the past month.  We say 'Thank You' to Dr. Jerry John and his staff - Michelle, Becky, Whitney, Megan and Deb for their kindness, concern and the expertise with which they coordinated Jan's medical care.

Thanks to the Hospice team - nurse Cory quickly became Jan's new Best Friend, Billy recorded some of Jan's life history, Christie came to sing, Brandon and Dr. Allen were here to help as well.

Thanks to everyone who was dedicated to Jan's well-being, it was greatly appreciated.

Services to honor Jan’s life will be Saturday, September 1, 2018 at 1:00 p.m. in the Rock Church located at 10 West Young Street Morgan, Utah.  Visitation will be the evening of Friday, August 31, 2018 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Turner home located at 194 W 100 N in Morgan, Utah and at the church prior to the services from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Interment will be at the South Morgan Cemetery.