When I heard from Bert that Bo had died I became occupied only with my own pain of loss and desire to gather with others who had known him. Now almost 2 weeks hence as I begin to gradually apprehend the emptiness of that niche in my mind and heart where I kept the confidence I could always "Run it by Bo." To receive affirmation enriched by perspectives previously unthought is no longer as close as the quick call or e-mail. It now requires our memories. How important keeping in the present those memories and the work they inspired. I am only now slowly finding my voice. He left so suddenly. None of us were prepared. Yet we should have known.

Emily Calhoun says it better than I could possibly. in her letter:

(Thanks to the NE Georgia Peace Corner Group,for sharing the photo)

" When I learned of the death of former Times columnist Bo Turner, my first thought was how much his blood relatives and his church family will miss him. My next thought was how like Bo it was to leave us suddenly instead of wasting away slowly. It was as if he said, "Bye, y'all. That's all I've got to say."

My father, who died at age 32 after a brief illness, wrote a poem entitled, "Let me die with my harness on." Bo, like my father, died with his harness on. He was still riding his motorcycle; still writing letters to the editor proclaiming, "Jesus is a liberal," which he backed up with quotations from the New Testament, still preaching the social gospel to his small congregation at Tallulah Falls Baptist Church.

Though not a pacifist, he opposed the Iraq war on moral and religious grounds. He pointed out that there was no evidence that the Iraqis planned to attack us and that our invasion of Iraq conflicts with Jesus' injunction to "love your enemies."

I was impressed with Bo's knowledge of American history, as well as church (especially Baptist) history. In his sermons, he reminded us of traditional beliefs that many Baptists are unaware of, including the separation of church and state, the priesthood of the believer (we minister to one another), and the autonomy of the local congregation.

As a substance abuse counselor, Bo helped hundreds of alcoholics and drug addicts. A self-confessed alcoholic who stopped drinking years ago and studied for the ministry, he understood people struggling with various types of addictions. He reminded them that they couldn't just get religion and turn their problems over to the Lord. They'd have to work hard to overcome their addictions.

Bo will be remembered by many of us as the gadfly of Northeast Georgia who shook us out of our complacency by making us think.
"Emily Calhoun, Alto, Originally published in the Gainesville Times, Monday, July 25, 2005.