2026 SESSION
ENROLLED
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 268
Celebrating the life of Fran E. Turner.
Agreed to by the House of Delegates, March 9, 2026
WHEREAS, Fran E. Turner, a highly admired community member in Big Stone Gap, died on November 22, 2025; and
WHEREAS, Fran Turner grew up in Dickenson County, where he graduated from the former Haysi High School in 1957; and
WHEREAS, after high school, Fran Turner served the nation as a member of the United States Air Force for four years and was stationed at Loring Air Force Base in Maine as an in-flight refueling specialist with Strategic Air Command; and
WHEREAS, Fran Turner returned to Southwest Virginia after his honorable military service and joined his father in the coal industry; he ultimately became an owner and operator of several mines and received a gubernatorial appointment to the Board of Coal Mining Examiners; and
WHEREAS, Fran Turner was active in the community as a member of the Clintwood Masonic Lodge No. 66 of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, the Kazim Shriners of Roanoke, the Cyrene Commandery No. 21 of the Knights Templar, the Scottish Rite Bodies of Roanoke, the Order of the Eastern Star No. 134, the Wise County Shrine Club, and the Powell Valley Shrine Club; and
WHEREAS, Fran Turner will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by his loving wife of 64 years, Sharon; his daughters, Karen and Rhonda, and their families; and numerous other family members and friends; now, therefore, be it