Richard Parrish
I won't ever forget going with Anne and John to their country club in south Longview, to have dinner and a good visit. Mr. Turk seemed never to meet a stranger, and I recall the first time I was around him. In a very hot summer of 1973, my car decided not to run. I'd parked the car while taking my piano lesson with Anne. Mr. Turk came out the front door of their Brownwood Place home and began checking everything under the hood. He visited with me as if we'd known each other for years. Several weeks later, I learned that he was a vice president for Swepco. The day of Mr. Turk working under the hood of my Oldsmobile will always remain in my mind.
I always loved watching Mr. and Mrs. Turk as they interacted. It was great fun to be in their den, watching and listening to the two of them as they had conversations with one another. Sometimes, Mr. Turk would tell Anne that she should do one thing or another, and she'd quietly but firmly say she wasn't going to do whatever he'd said she should do. She'd say, "John, you can go ahead and be mad at me, but I'm NOT going to . . . ." I'd love those times of being in their den, with them, and watching their interactions. Both, of course, were formidable people, each having risen in their respective fields, and each being very independent.
I miss those times with Anne and John. I remember that Anne, a caregiver, and Peggy Coghlin and her husband, and I had planned on traveling to nearby Arkansas, to be present when the John W. Turk Power Plant opened, but it was not meant to be. It was only,after Anne's death that the power plant opened with a tribute to the man whose life and professional commitments played such an instrumental role in SWEPCO.
Anne and the rest of us had looed forward to the opening of that power plant in Arkansas. We all would have enjoyed driving to Arkansas for the tribute to Mr. Turk;. What a formidable force he was, and I miss seeing him. As Peggy Coghlan said one afternoon, "Once a CEO, always a CEO," and, yes, he surely was that.
Mr. Turk, for the years of friendship we shared, and for our love for Anne, thank you for letting me part of the Turk family life at 13 Brownwood Drive. When I think of that lovely, elegant home, I always picture you standing in the entry hall and welcoming me with that booming voice. Peace to you, Mr. Turk, and many thanks for allowing me to share part of your life. Rest in peace.