Born Aug. 25, 1920, a Half Moon Bay native, he was raised by his grandparents, who owned the only candy store in town at that time. His youth was spent riding horses and working on his grandfather’s ranch. As a young man he spent time with his best friends riding through the country on their Harley-Davidson motorbikes, but, he also knew the hardship of the Great Depression and World War II. Applying to join the service, he was refused due to color-blindness.
His work record shows that he never took on a job that he didn't make every effort to get it done right. He often quoted the saying: “if a job’s worth doing, it's worth doing right.” This is evident in the fact that he was one of the most respected guys at Local 3 of the Operating Engineers for more than 30 years. Operating heavy equipment, he was called on to grade the land for housing developments all around the Bay Area and lent his skills to make “break lines” for firefighters during the 1960s fires in Northern California.
 Gordon Frederic Turner, aka Gordon Santos |
Gordon met, fell in love, and married Jane Reeves in late 1949. His deep compassion for children led him to raise Jane's four children as his own and have seven more from their union. They all lived in El Granada on Columbus Street until 1968 when Gordon decided, "it's getting just too damn crowded here." So he moved to a smaller town, Ukiah in Northern California.
Jane passed away in 1975. Some years later he remarried and eventually moved to Eureka, Calif. He enjoyed his retired life, gardening and antiquing with his wife, Nancy, until she died in 2006. Late in 2007, he re-connected with his children and returned to live in Half Moon Bay at the home of his daughter and son-in-law, Tim and Maureen Stanfield. Tim became another son and they shared many fun times together.
He truly enjoyed being back “home” in Half Moon Bay where he was able to see friends not seen for decades. These past two years in Half Moon Bay also marked milestones: his 88th and 89th birthdays with family surrounding him; his first flight certificate was received in January 2008 on a flight to visit his daughter in New Orleans; and several trips following the Giants baseball games.
Along with all the wonderful experiences, he also had health challenges in this past year. He faced them with his usual courage, grace and humor. After continuous physical therapy sessions he was overheard saying, “You know what I want to do? I want to have some fun, you know? FUN, FUN, FUN. Life's too short. Let's have some fun." Then he laughed.
He will be missed. Those of us near him were still learning from his example of how to live in the moment and with grace.
He is preceded in death by his wife, Jane Turner; his mother, Thora Dale; his daughter, Mary Fortado, and his son-in-laws James Keyser Sr. and Keith Young; and his second wife Nancy Santos.
He is survived by his children and their families, James Reno; Joan and husband Ernie Rulia; Juanita and husband Burdette Sladek; Alice and husband Al Lewis; son-in-law Larry Fortado Sr; Maureen and husband Tim Stanfield; Lonna Young; Gordon Turner Jr. and wife Vicki; Jerry Turner; Rodney Turner and his life partner Sara Miller; and Raymond Turner. Also surviving Gordon are 20 grandchildren; 16 great-grandchildren and 1 great-great grand child.
A Blessing Service will be held at 1 p.m. It is preceded by visitation from 10 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 4, at Miller-Dutra Coastside Chapel, 645 Kelly Ave, Half Moon Bay, Calif.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be sent to: 'Sequoia Hosp. Cardiac Fund - Memory of Gordon Santos-Turner' 170 Alameda de las Pulgas, Redwood City, CA 94062
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