Turner, John (of Regina)

TURNER, John (1883-1921), architect of Regina, Saskatchewan where he held a position as staff architect in the office of the Provincial Architect from 1919 until his untimely death in November 1921. Born in Carlisle in northern England in 1883, he was educated and trained there and emigrated to the United States in 1908 and settled in Boston, Mass. In January 1910, he moved to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan where he was obtained a position of director of the branch office of the prominent Regina architectural firm of Storey & Van Egmond, and represented the firm at their branch office there for the next 6 years. He joined the Saskatchewan Association of Architects in January 1912. In 1916 he enlisted with the Canadian Army and went overseas to serve during WW1. After his return in April 1919, Turner moved to Regina and joined the staff of the Provincial Architects Dept., working under the direct supervision of Maurice Sharon. He died suddenly in Regina on 8 November 1921 (obituary, Morning Leader (Regina), 9 Nov. 1921, 2). A photographic portrait of Turner was published in The Saturday Press (Saskatoon), Building & Development Number, 1912, p. 27. (biog. in E.J. Gilbert, Up The Years With The Saskatchewan Association of Architects, 1969, 21).