Obituary of Dr. James "Jim" Turnure

Dr. James ‘Jim’ Turnure passed away peacefully on March 6, 2025 at the age of 92. Jim was born and raised in St. Louis, graduated from Beaumont High School, and served in the Navy during the Korean War. After going to college on the GI Bill, he attained a PhD in child psychology from Yale University before spending his entire career as a professor with the Institute of Child Development at the University of Minnesota. His research on learning and development helped profoundly transform society’s understanding of learning disabilities and contributed to the foundation of modern special education. He enjoyed distance running and ran in the first Twin Cities Marathons in the 1970s. Later in life his travels included Australia, Alaska and the Amazon. Dr. Turnure is survived by his sister Margaret, two sons Michael and James and his four grandchildren. He is interred at Fort Snelling National Cemetery and will be greatly missed by all who knew him.