Ted Turner Sr.

Ted L. Turner, Sr., 91, died Monday, April 11, 2016 in Corpus Christi, Texas. Ted had a long and successful career as a registered landscape architect and nurseryman in South Texas, and was known nationally and internationally through his hybridization of oleander plants. He held nine U.S. Plant Patents.

Ted's wife, the late Elaine Koop Turner, was his lifelong business partner. They were married for 68 years. 

Ted was born July 29, 1924 in Richmond, the only son of the late E. A. and Lee Miller Turner. He grew up in Big Creek, Texas, near Richmond, and moved with his family to LaSalle during his high school years. He graduated from high school in Vanderbilt where he met and later married his high school sweetheart, Elaine Koop Turner. Ted Sr. served in the U.S. Army during World War II.

Ted and Elaine owned and operated nurseries in Edna, Premont, and Corpus Christi over a period of 50 years. Their last nursery, Turner's Gardenland on South Padre Island Drive, was a family corporation with their oldest son, Ted. L. Turner, Jr. It was founded in 1973 and continues as a family business under Ted Jr.'s leadership.

Ted Sr. received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Oleander Society in 1995 for his outstanding contributions to the development of new oleander varieties, especially some of his dwarf varieties that are grown throughout Corpus Christi and around the world, most notably in Germany, Austria, and Hungary. Ted Sr.'s Nerium oleander "Carnival" was reviewed in 2012 by Mariann Hamori, Hungary's leading oleander expert, in her book Leanderoazis (An Oleander Oasis). Along with his wife, Ted Sr. was also an honoree of the South Texas Botanical Garden & Nature Center's Botanica 2007 event.

Ted Sr. has been a long-time member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Corpus Christi.

He is survived by four children, Ted L. Turner, Jr. (Sherrie); Dr. Michael M. Turner (Jean); Shari Delaine Parker (Jim); and Anthony Koop Turner. Ted had nine grandchildren, and 13 great-grandchildren. Ted Sr. is also survived by two sisters, Juanita "Beeb" Turner of Austin and Marinelle Turner Carroll of League City.

Visitation was from 6 to 8 p.m., Friday, April 15, at Trinity Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod Parish Hall. A memorial service was at 1 p.m., Saturday, April 16, at Trinity Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod, Corpus Christi. Interment followed in the Premont Cemetery, Premont.  

In lieu of flowers, The Turner Family requests that donations be made to The Wenholz House, 1200 l0th Street, Corpus Christi, Texas 78404.  

Funeral arrangements under the direction of Maxwell P. Dunne Funeral Service, Inc. of Corpus Christi, Texas.