As a Methodist pastor, the Rev. Reece Turrentine served churches throughout Georgia, including Atlanta, for 41 years. As a lifelong outdoorsman, he hiked, camped, canoed, rafted, golfed and piloted a plane over every square inch of the state that he could.
“Reece was a man after God’s own heart, loving His creation as Reece did. He did so many things that make life worth living and beautiful,” said a friend, the Rev. Burns Willis of Thomasville, a retired Methodist minister.
Turrentine was also adept at indoor pursuits, Willis said, able to play classical pieces on the piano or paint lifelike scenes in oil.
“Reece once created a painting that close up looks like a variety of faces of people of all colors but at a distance appears to be the face of Christ,” Willis said. “For me, that was Reece’s summation of how he felt about all peoples’ relationship with each other and God.”
The Rev. Reece Turrentine, 84, of Atlanta died Dec. 21 of respiratory failure at Emory University Hospital. His memorial service is 1 p.m. Wednesday in the chapel of Peachtree Road United Methodist Church. H.M. Patterson & Sons, Spring Hill, is in charge of arrangements.
A Candler School of Theology graduate, Turrentine first pastored in Thomasville, his hometown, then Hahira, Cuthbert and Macon.
In Atlanta, Turrentine became a favorite of the congregation at Peachtree Road United Methodist Church, where he served as associate pastor from 1985 to 1995.
“Reece had a voice that drew you in, that said, ‘I am your friend,’” said the Rev. Don Harp of Atlanta, who was senior pastor then. He said Turrentine comforted the sick in hospitals and presided at numerous funerals at the request of congregants.
In the pulpit, Turrentine talked about dealing with real life, not theological abstractions, Harp said. Turrentine often referred to his thoughts about nature or his fishing or canoeing adventures, and the congregation appreciated that, Harp said.
From 1976 to 1982 Turrentine wrote monthly stories for Brown’s Guide to Georgia about canoeing on Georgia’s rivers. The articles’ popularity was beyond belief, said Fred Brown of Peachtree City, editor of brownsguide.com.
“People loved reading about Reece’s adventures with fellow canoeists. He captured the spirit of the waters in his articles. More than 30 years afterwards, I still get requests for reprints of his work,” Brown said.
Another retired Methodist colleague, the Rev. Bill Hurdle of Macon, said Turrentine often took him flying in a light plane that Turrentine shared with other friends.
“Sometimes he would come pick me up to take me to ministerial meetings at St. Simons Island or Columbus,” Hurdle said, “and sometimes we would just go for a joyride to see scenic parts of the state. I was always impressed with how careful a pilot he was.”
Eleanor “Onie” Turrentine, his wife of 62 years, said piloting was the one thing in which her husband took rigorous instruction. Everything else he did, she said, was pretty much self-taught.
A longtime golf partner, the Rev. Bill McKoy of Decatur, said Turrentine in his prime was a low-handicap golfer who even coached golf at Andrew College while he was pastor in Cuthbert.
"About seven years ago," McKoy recalled, "we approached the par-three 12th hole at Cotton Fields Golf Club in McDonough when Reece told me he had never made a hole in one in his life, but he felt as if the time had come. And, by golly, he got his hole in one."
Also surviving are a daughter, Linda Turrentine, and a son, Michael Turrentine, both of Atlanta.
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