Gene Turner - Champion Skater, Star, Coach - 26 Nov. 1920 - 14 Jan. 2010

Gene Turner was a special person - a super skater winning US National Championships [one year in three events], performing in films and skating shows, including Iceland with Sonja Henie, and helping generations of skaters through coaching.  Those later years were spent at Berkeley Iceland where he coached until just a few years before his death.  While I did not know Gene other than in passing at the rink, he is fondly remembered by many who learned from him and have told me many stories based on their fond memories of the time they spent with him.  I remember seeing him with Tony Howard on the ice a few years before the doors closed - over 100 years of skating talent together.  I'm sorry I didn't get to know him...

[photo from World Figure Skating Museum and Hall of Fame via U. S. Figure Skating]