Willene Elizabeth Culpepper
Female, #35154
James Elbert Turner Holt
Male, #35157, (19 September 1937 - 14 February 1994)
| Birth* | 19 Sep 1937 | James was born at Wilkes Co., Georgia, on 19 Sep 1937. |
| Death* | 14 Feb 1994 | He died at New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana, on 14 Feb 1994. |
| Biography* | | Name: James Elbert Turner Holt per Josephine C. Holt corrections to manuscript received 17 Feb 1998. Mrs. Eleanor (Culpepper) Willingham wrote in a 9 Jan 1995 letter that Turner Holt had suffered from cancer and she preserved the following from a memorial service: J. E. TURNER HOLT His life was gentle, and the elements so mixed in him that Nature might stand up and say to all the world, "this was a man." Thus did Shakespeare define our dear friend Turner Holt over two hundred years ago. I grieve when a man of talent and kindness dies, for it seems the world needs such a man more than heaven does. Turner somehow defined early on who he really was and then learned to live with and within that decision. For such as a man's reputation is the opinion people have of him, his character is what he really is-and for all of us who knew and loved him his character was towering in sight and endless in depth. And Turner proved that success in life is a journey and not a destination. He proceeded confidently in the discretion of his dreams and endeavored to live the life he had imagined and was met with success unexpected, but so justly deserved. For his parents he well represents the desirable end-point that all of us as parents can only envy and admire. And as a parent-well, who of us is mature enough for offspring before the offspring themselves arrive? The value of marriage is not that adults produce children, but that children produce adults and challenge and encourage them to become parents. Turner, with his helpmate and friend Pheeny, also succeeded very well in this arena. Just as our children are who we are, his legacy is secured for generations as a result of their love and guidance. They have proven that love does not consist of gazing at each other, but looking outward together-in the same direction. Turner was not without his lighter moments and devilish sense of humor. As someone who played against him and with him in more tennis matches that I would care to recount, I wish to share with you a brief representation of his lighter side. Anyone who has seen me on a tennis court knows that I have never developed a fearful overhead, in fact it often times was that part of my game that provoked uncontrollable laughter in my opponents. It got so bad during one tournament in Alabama that Turner very politely but firmly approached me and quietly requested that any ball three inches above my eyebrows he would take. I was playing so badly that I began to duck just to raise that level. I know that Turner would agree with me and Mark Twain that life would be infinitely happier if only we could be born at the age of 80 and gradually approach 18. However as we all know life is but a little gleam of time between two eternities, and I like you, am fortunate to have shared that passage of time with Turner Holt. And so I close with:
Here's a health to the future, A sigh to the past; We all love and remember, And hope to the last; And for all the sadness That the present holds, While there is love in the heart, We can never grow old. With Love, Merv Trail February 17, 1994. |
Charlene Culpepper
Female, #35158
William Alvin Booth
Male, #35159
(?) Carpenter
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