Tommie Turner, 84, postal supervisor and traveler
A safari in Kenya was a highlight of his travels.
TOMMIE TURNER couldn't sit still.
When he wasn't working as a supervisor for the U.S. Postal Service, he was on a cruise ship heading for the Caribbean or the Mediterranean or Alaska or the Panama Canal, or on a safari stalking the wild beasts in the jungles of Kenya, or on a dance floor doing the bop or the slop.
Or he was golfing, or bowling, or playing pinochle, or organizing fundraising jazz concerts for his church, or a Valentine dance at a local caterer's place.
In other words, Tommie Turner had to keep moving.
Tommie, who also managed the books part time for a number of private parties, including a physician and a funeral home, and a devoted family man, died Nov. 11 of complications of prostate cancer. He was 84 and lived in Wynnefield Heights.
He retired from the Postal Service in 1985 at age 55. Having taken some accounting courses at Temple University, he used his flair for figures to take care of other people's finances and income taxes.
Tommie was known for his sartorial splendor as well as his charming personality that drew people to him.
"He was very outgoing," said his wife, the former Thelma Jackson. "He was witty and honest. He had a beautiful smile. He was a wonderful guy and a good father."
"He was very suave," said William W. "Buddy" Savin, owner of the Savin Funeral Home, a 30-year friend who used Tommie to do his books. "He was very dedicated. He took care of my books. He'll be hard to replace."
"He was a good dancer and a nice dresser," said Savin, who was one of a group of pals who met every Tuesday for pinochle. "He was a good family man."
Twice a year, Tommie organized jazz concerts at his church, Berean Presbyterian. He brought a number of prominent jazz artists to the events, including the late singer Etta James; the late jazz drummer Tony Williams; the late Frank Morgan, jazz saxophonist; Frank Bey, blues singer; and others.
His Valentine dances were held once a year at various venues. And you could be sure that Tommie wouldn't have been the last on the dance floor.
Tommie was born in Garner, N.C., to David Turner and the former Iola Dowd. The family came to Philadelphia when he was a child and he graduated from Benjamin Franklin High School in 1949.
He started at what was then the U.S. Post Office Department, as a window clerk at the office at 40th Street and Lancaster Avenue, and held a number of positions before becoming a supervisor at the former main post office at 30th and Market streets.
He was part of a team that developed the "ZIP Plus 4," system, the addition of four digits to the regular ZIP code. He traveled to different U.S. cities as part of the job.
Tommie met his wife at a dance and they were married Nov. 4, 1950.
The couple made friends with a former official of the U.S. Foreign Service and his wife, and they helped the Turners set up a month-long tour of Africa, culminating with a safari in Kenya.
"Of all of our vacations, that was the most outstanding, the most memorable," his wife said.
Besides his wife, he is survived by a daughter, Jan Jenkins; a son, Tommie Jr.; two grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Services: 11 a.m. tomorrow at Berean Presbyterian Church, 2101 N. Broad St. Friends may call at 9 a.m. Burial will be in Ivy Hill Cemetery.