Ralph Meade Turpin

RALPH MEADE TURPIN Ralph Meade Turpin, 80, died peacefully on September 28, 2011, at Hospice of Northern Virginia, Arlington, Virginia. He had survived numerous serious illnesses for several years and fought valiantly during his last illness. Mr. Turpin was born May 26, 1931 in Lexington, Virginia to Ammen Vincent Turpin and Ora Virginia Alphin Turpin, both deceased, and grew up in Lexington, graduating from Effinger High School. He graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute in 1953 with an ROTC commission as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army. He served a number of years in Europe-notably Germany-and retired from the Army as a Captain. Continuing his government service, he joined the Department of Agriculture in Washington and served many years there, with most of his service in the Environmental Protection Agency, from which he retired in his mid-fifties. Mr. Turpin lived primarily in Arlington, Virginia and became an active, successful, and respected entrepreneur in the Northern Virginia real estate market until his death. He was active in the local VFW and American Legion posts and acquired many business and social friends during his time in Arlington. He was a Master Mason of 54 years duration in the Mountain City Lodge No. 67 in Lexington, Virginia. He was an avid poker player and enjoyed that with his friends at the VFW and at his vacation home in Ocean City, Maryland. Mr. Turpin is survived by his older brother, William Vincent Turpin of Lexington, Virginia and his wife, Lucy Thomas Turpin; his younger sister, Anne Turpin Fesperman of Paoli, Pennsylvania and her husband, W. Rowe Fesperman; five nieces and nephews: Linda T. Frece of Moneta, Virginia; Warren V. Turpin of Lexington, Virginia; Hunter F. Hannig of Malvern, Pennsylvania; Brooke F. Olander of Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey (a god-daughter), and Page E. Gilmore of Blue Bell, Pennsylvania; nine grand-nieces and grand-nephews, including Christianne Van Dyke of Bristow, Virginia, and two great-grand-nieces. A funeral service will be held at Arlington Funeral Home, 3901 N. Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA on Friday, October 7, 2011 at 1 o’clock p.m. with visitation taking place from 12 p.m. to 1 o’clock p.m. Interment will be at the family plot in Stonewall Jackson Memorial Cemetery in Lexington, VA at 11 a.m. on Saturday, October 8, 2011. Memorial gifts may be made to John Lyon VFW Post 3150, 2116 North 19th Street, Arlington, VA 22201; American Legion Post 139, 3445 Washington Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22201-4507, and Virginia Tech Foundation, Alumni Association, 902 Prices Fork Road, Blacksburg, VA 24061.