Kenneth Turrentine

Mr. Kenneth Turrentine, age 74 of Moncure, NC transitioned to eternal rest Tuesday, March 12, 2024, at SECU Jim and Betsy Bryan Hospice Home of UNC Health Care in Pittsboro, NC. 

OBITUARY
Kenneth Turrentine, son of the late Walter L. Turrentine and Gertrude Bryant Turrentine, was born September 18, 1949, in Stamford, CT. He transitioned to take his place in the Lord’s kingdom on March 12, 2024. 

Beginnings
Ken graduated from high school in Stamford CT in 1967.  He was a talented draftsman and worked as a graphics designer for Remington Rand, where he was promoted at the young age of 18 for a design enhancement of the Remington typewriter. He was drafted into the U.S. Army, where he served as a MARS Operator in the Vietnam War. After returning from Vietnam, Ken took courses in city planning at Baltimore City Community College. 

Ken married his soulmate, Deborah Williams Turrentine, of East Baltimore, MD on May 10, 1974. They moved to NC where they raised their four children.

Kenny and Debbie loved to travel with their family and spent time on numerous Caribbean cruises and enjoyed cross-country trips to California, Alaska, Hawaii, and Canada. Together they have visited over 48 states and 15 islands.

Accomplishments
Ken was an architect, designing numerous homes, churches and buildings. Early in his career he was heralded for designing the case that held George Washington’s teeth at the University of Maryland Baltimore campus. He also designed one of the early laundry chutes for the University of Maryland hospital.  In RTP NC, Ken worked as a pipe designer for the J.S. Sirine design firm and a Project Engineer for Nortel.  He designed the Japanese garden at the RTP facility and the Nortel mobile unit that toured across the U.S. and Canada, that showcased the company's latest technology switches. Ken later retired as a Crossing Inventory Engineer from the Railway Division of the NC Department of Transportation in 2016. 

Interests
Ken was a member of Christian Provision Ministries in Sanford, NC where he had volunteered in the Parking Lot ministry and assisted with landscaping the church grounds. Prior to joining CPM, he was a member of Mt. View A.M.E. Zion where he served as a Trustee and sang baritone in the Senior choir. Ken was active in the community as a member of the Chatham Community branch NAACP and the CRC-C organizations, was an elections poll worker, and volunteered in many other community activities. He was an avid chess player and enjoyed teaching his kids and grandkids the strategy of the game. Ken's hobbies included maintaining fresh and saltwater fish, collecting coins and riding his Goldwing motorcycle. He loved his family, was proud of the family legacy and would often share fond stories about his family. 

Family
Ken was preceded in death by his parents, Walter L. Turrentine and Gertrude Bryant Turrentine; father- and mother-in-law, James and Elizabeth Williams.

Left to cherish his memories are his wife of almost 50 years, Deborah Williams Turrentine; children, Kenisia (Steven), Bryan, Monique (Steve), and Brandon; grandchildren, Evan, Erik and Emerie Taylor, Brayden Turrentine, Laureyan T. Trethaway, and Izabella Pica-Turrentine; bonus grandchildren, Stephanie, Porshia and Dominique Taylor, and Tyson Holmes; goddaughter, Jennifer Dunston; siblings, Walter Louis Turrentine and Yvonne Walker (Rod) and a host of sisters- and brothers-in-law, nieces, nephews, relatives, and friends.

ATTENTION: Everyone that enters the funeral home and or attends services- MUST WEAR A MASK

"We do not own copyrights to the background music"

Thank you for helping us protect the families and communities we serve.

Professional services entrusted to Knotts Funeral Home-Pittsboro, NC