Obituary of Charles Brister Turner

Charles Brister Turner was born in Cleveland, Ohio on May 2, 1958, the beloved son of Dr. John Brister Turner and Marian Wilson Turner.

Upon finishing elementary school in Cleveland, he attended middle school at Cardigan Mountain School in Canaan, New Hampshire. His interest in photography began in his teens. As a student at Chapel Hill High School, he was Photographic Editor for the Chapel Hill High Newspaper as well as the Chapel Hill High School Yearbook 1975-1976. Charles went on to earn his undergraduate degree in photography from The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in Providence, Rhode Island in 1981. He did further study in photography at Randolph Technical Institute in Asheboro, NC and continued to photograph until severe illness began to slowly diminish his professional dreams.

His photographic work has been exhibited at RISD, in Montpelier Vermont and Chapel Hill. Charles served as a photographer for the American Dance Festival, the Chapel Hill Newspaper, the Durham Morning Herald, as a fashion photographer for several businesses in the Chapel Hill area and in later years, for his beloved community at Club Nova.

He traveled with family to Europe and to Egypt. A significant portion of his photography documents the US State Department’s Agency for International Development Project in Egypt, “Social Units in the Rural Community 1979-1980.”

Charles loved to photograph people, dance, and nature, and his photos reflect his singular eye for design. The camera was his passion. With people and with dance movement, in particular, he had an innate sense of timing, knowing instinctively when to click the shutter at the “right moment” and capture a feeling of spontaneity.

Somewhat reticent and reserved, Charles was blessed with a special gentle and engaging spirit who loved people and animals especially his cat of many years, Tomcat.

He is survived by his sister, Marian Turner Hopkins, his nephew, Ian Hopkins, his brother-in-law, Jonathan Hopkins, and cousins.

A visitation will be held on Saturday, September 25, 2021 at Walker’s Funeral Home in Chapel Hill from 1:00 p.m. until 2:00 p.m.

He will be laid to rest at Chapel Hill Memorial Cemetery.

Charles was very much loved and will be greatly missed by all of his family and friends.