Bearing two of the most prominent names in Salmon Arm’s history, Ronald Turner, commonly known as Ronnie, died Dec. 9 at the age of 100 years.
Ronnie was the last surviving child of Robert Turner and Maude (McGuire) Turner, whose Turner apple orchards put Salmon Arm on the map.
He was born into a home located among the trees of the growing orchard started by his father in 1896 – now the site of Service B.C.
Ronnie spent 30 years working for his father’s company, R. Turner and Sons. This would have been much longer had it not been for the bitter winter of 1949/50, which killed off much of the Shuswap orchards. Much of his later years were spent tending a small fruit orchard. He became known as the “Plum Man,” right up until the last prune plum was picked in 2013.
Ronnie was a keen supporter of preserving local history. Members of the Salmon Arm Museum remembered him as a valued history resource for staff and volunteers in the archives room.
A service was held Dec. 14.