Pete Benton Turnham (January 1, 1920 – September 30, 2019) was a politician in the American state of

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

Early life and education

Turnham was born in

Penton, Alabama Penton is a census-designated place and unincorporated community in Chambers County, Alabama, United States. Its population was 163 as of the 2020 census which is down from a population of 201 people at the 2010 census. Demographics Notable p ...

, to Joseph Henry and Fannie May (née Sessions) Turnham. After attending schools in Abanda, Alabama and Milltown, Alabama, he attended

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 26,800 undergraduate students, over 6,100 post-graduate students, and a tota ...

(then

Alabama Polytechnic Institute Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 26,800 undergraduate students, over 6,100 post-graduate students, and a total enrollment of more than 34,000 students ...

). He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

where he also attended the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

. He would later retire as a captain in the Infantry

Reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US v ...

in 1959, having commanded combat infantry units in Europe during the war. For his service, he was awarded a

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

. After the war, he attended classes at

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

, and was employed by the Marshall and Bruce Company, as a sales representative.

Career

Turnham started off his political career as a member of the Lee County School Board, from which he served from 1955 to 1958. In 1958 he was elected to the

Alabama House of Representatives The Alabama House of Representatives is the lower house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of state of Alabama. The House is composed of 105 members representing an equal number of districts, with ...

, representing Lee County (district 79), as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

. He would serve until 1998, with his 40 years being the longest in the state's history. He was known for introducing legislation regarding education and agriculture, and upon completion of his term was bestowed the term "Dean of the Alabama Legislature" in recognition of his long service in a resolution. During his time he also served, among many, on the Education Committee and as vice-chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. During his legislative term, he also served as president of Alabama Contract Sales. He was also associated with the

Gamma Sigma Delta Gamma Sigma Delta (), or more fully, the Honor Society of Agriculture, Gamma Sigma Delta, is an international honor society for agriculture students and those in related fields. Founded in 1913, it is the oldest and largest such society for its a ...

Honor Society of Agriculture and

Phi Delta Kappa PDK International (also known as PDK or Phi Delta Kappa International) is an international professional organization for educators. It was founded on January 24, 1906, at Indiana University. The fraternity administers the collegiate honor society ...

Honor Society of Education. He was recognized by his alma mater, Auburn University, in 1998 with the Legislative Action Network with its first ever Legislative Tiger Award. In 2003, he was honoured by the Alabama Agricultural Hall.http://www.ag.auburn.edu/alumni/hall-of-honor/documents/TurnhamP.pdf The Alabama Association for Public Continuing and Adult Education's Pete Turnham Scholarship is named after him.

Personal life

He married Netye Kathryn Earnest in 1943 and had four children with her, including Alabama politician

Joe Turnham Joe Turnham (born October 28, 1959, in Lee County, Alabama) is a United States politician who chaired the Alabama Democratic Party from 2005 to 2011. Family and education Turnham and his family reside in Auburn, and he is the son of Pete Turnh ...

. He was a Baptist and resided in Auburn. Turnham died on September 30, 2019, at the age of 99.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turnham, Peter 1920 births 2019 deaths People from Auburn, Alabama People from Chambers County, Alabama Auburn University alumni Pennsylvania State University alumni Businesspeople from Alabama Democratic Party members of the Alabama House of Representatives Military personnel from Alabama School board members in Alabama Baptists from Alabama 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century Baptists 20th-century members of the Alabama Legislature