Thomas J. Turpin

Retired U.S. Navy Capt. Thomas J. Turpin, Jr. was born in Miami, Fla., in 1935 and moved to Tampa in 1948. He graduated from H.B. Plant High School and Florida State University, where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity. He was commissioned at Naval Officer Candidate School in 1959. He married his Plant High and FSU classmate Carolyn Davis in 1960, who passed away in 2010. He is survived by three sons, Thomas J, III, Christopher D. (Mary Catherine), Cameron C. and two grandchildren. Tom is also survived by his second wife, Shelia Greason Turpin, of Sun City Center, Fla. Tom served in the U.S. Navy for 27 years during which he completed three tours in Vietnam and attended the U.S. Naval War College. A Surface Warfare Officer, he served on seven warships, three of which he captained. His shore assignments included duty on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations in the Pentagon and in the Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC. Tom retired in 1986. In addition to many veterans organizations, he was a member of several hereditary societies, including the Jamestowne Society and the Society of the Cincinnati. Funeral service will be held at 11 a.m., Thursday, October 13, 2016, at St. John the Divine Episcopal Church, 1015 Del Webb Boulevard, Sun City Center, Fla. Interment with military honors will be at Arlington National Cemetery at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in Tom’s name to the Wounded Warriors Project, 4899 Belfort Road Suite 300, Jacksonville, FL 32256, or St. John the Devine Episcopal Church Building Fund. Arrangements Sun City Center Funeral Home, Sun City Center, Fla., 813-634-9900.