Turner, Ernest "Wayne"

Engineer, Veteran, Mason, And Active Member Of His Church

  • Thursday, October 3, 2024
Ernest "Wayne" Turner
Ernest "Wayne" Turner

Ernest "Wayne" Turner, 80, also known as "Wahoo!" by his good buddies, passed away on Monday, September 30, 2024, after a valiant battle with prostate cancer.

He was a longtime resident of Signal Mountain, living in a log cabin he built with the help of family and friends in 1977. For 72 years, he was a committed, active member of Mount Carmel Baptist Church, singing in the choir for over 40 years and serving as an active deacon for over 20 years. He was an active Mason for over 50 years and was a Past Master Mason of both Hill City Masonic Lodge #603 and Signal Mountain Masonic Lodge #758. He was active in the Army Reserves for over six years and a member of the American Legion. He worked as a quality and welding engineer for Combustion Engineering/Alstom Power from the late 1960s until he retired in 2010. He could fix anything that was broken and worked many side jobs repairing welding machines for Chattanooga area companies.

He was a devoted husband; a dedicated, fun-loving father and grandfather; and a selfless friend. He loved having fun with his family and leaves them with wonderful memories of tubing the Hiwassee River, going to Lake Winnepesaukah; hiking in the Smokey Mountains; playing cornhole, horseshoes, and Uno; and making homemade strawberry ice cream in his antique, hand-cranked White Mountain freezer. He relished being outside working on his tractors, going to bluegrass music festivals, and playing his banjo on his back porch. If you lived on Signal Mountain and listened closely at the end of a summer day, you may have heard his banjo ring from his back porch, across Coal Bank Creek holler, over the back side of the mountain, and down into Sequatchie Valley.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Ernest and Mildred Juanita Hartman; and his brother, Franklin Turner.

Survivors include his wife of 57 years, Wanda Turner; daughters, Tina Turner Stolnack (Mike) and Victoria (James) Vandergriff; granddaughters, Kyra Moon Vandergriff and November Rain Vandergriff.

Visitation is from 4–6 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 13, at Lane Funeral Home on Ashland Terrace. Funeral service is at 6 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 13, in the Coulter Chapel of Lane Funeral Home with Dr. Steve Granger and Rocky Bradford officiating. Interment is at 1 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 14, in Pleasant Hill Methodist Church Cemetery in Paint Rock, Tn.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Hill City Masonic Lodge.

Arrangements entrusted to Lane Funeral Home, 601 Ashland Terrace, Chattanooga, Tn. 37415, 423 877-3524, lanefh.com.

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