Saying Farewell to Chris Turner

Words by Coreena Fletcher.

This weekend we lost a fellow rider. Chris Turner passed away unexpectedly in his sleep last Sunday morning. He was a healthy 28 year-old, active in mountain biking, surfing, soccer and hockey.

Many of you either know Chris personally, or will at least recognize his work as he designed some of the most popular local mountain biking websites such as Dangerous Dan’s Flowriders, Sterling Lorence, Sombrio and others.

Chris Turner, what a guy! There was no other way to describe Chris, other than to say he was a first class guy and a wonderful friend. Growing up on Harbour Drive in Coquitlam, our family got to know the Turner’s about 20 years ago. Both Chris and his older brother John were people we all looked up to. They had it all; a wonderful family, many great friends and an incredible passion for sports. My brother Cris and I were always envious of the Turner boys; their garage was like a sporting goods store.

Chris taught us both how to Snowboard and he was one of the first snowboarders on Blackcomb Mountain and also one of the first instructors. His passion for snowboarding inspired me to be an instructor as well. He was an incredible role model and someone my brother and I respected greatly. Not only did he get us into snowboarding, he also introduced us to the best sport of all; mountain biking. As kids we spent a lot of time at the Turner’s house riding our bikes down the trail to Port Moody. Last week we reminisced about our many adventures and said if we still lived there, the whole trail would consist of dirt jumps, from top to bottom. We had a good laugh about the old days and how today we still love the sport of mountain biking.

Beyond all the sports our families did together, this last year we had the opportunity to work with Chris on a daily basis. I have an amazing father who helps us young entrepreneurs get a start in our new business ventures. My father knew Chris was starting Focus Media Design and needed a place to concentrate on his work, and dad was kind enough to offer him an office.

My dad was very involved in helping Chris start his business and mentored him along the way. Six months ago, I started my own business as well, and was also taken under my father’s wing. It’s my dad’s way of setting us up for our world of experiences.

It’s been a great pleasure working with Chris everyday for the last six months and learning about the different Web sites he was creating. He was so proud of his work, and was excited to work with so many great people. Some of his work included;

Flowriders.com - SterlingLorence.com - Sombrio - Big Mountain - Bean Around the World & Cowboy Coffee

Additionally he had worked on projects for Cove Bikes and Dave Watson.


Chris and I did our best to help each other learn and succeed as new business owners. When we needed a break from reality, we would come into the board room and watch Old School or a bike video. It wasn’t that we didn’t work around the office, we just knew how take a few minutes to enjoy the day and have a good laugh - after all that’s what life is all about, and if anyone knew how to have fun, it was Chris Turner.

Chris, you were and will always be an inspiration to us all. We take our memories of you wherever we go. Thank you for being a friend to us all and for making this world a better place. We will miss you greatly.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Turner family.

Coreena Fletcher

Chris’s memorial is taking place on Friday, April 2nd at 2:00 PM at:

Holy Trinity Anglican Church
1440 West 12th Ave.
Vancouver

Click here for a map to the church.

A reception will be held immediately following at the Vancouver Rowing Club, Stanley Park, Coal Harbor.

Click here for a map to the reception.

In lieu of flowers the Turner family will be establishing a legacy fund is being established in Chris' name, the details of which will be available in the near future.

Please dedicate your next ride to the memory of Chris.