Michael G. Turner ’50

Michael died July 12, 2012, in New Jersey.

He attended Shady Side Academy in his hometown of Pittsburgh, Pa., and then served in the Navy from 1943 to 1946. At Princeton, he graduated with honors from the School of Public and International Affairs, was active in intramural sports, and was a member of Cannon.

He made advertising his life career, first with Benton & Bowles, and then with Ogilvy & Mather, which he joined in 1970 in Houston. While there, Michael built the office to become Houston’s largest agency and expanded it to Dallas and Atlanta. After a brief stint as Ogilvy’s creative director in Washington, he retired in 1985. He eventually settled in New Jersey.

As he was about to go off to the Navy, his mother suggested his birth name, Merton, “wouldn’t be good,” so he changed it to Michael. Reportedly he suffered only minor abuse when his middle name, Griswold, was revealed during mail call while on a carrier in the Pacific.

He was an avid Princeton football fan, starting as an undergraduate when he arranged football dances. Our last communication from him in January 2012 was about the 1946 upset of Penn.

Michael is survived by his wife of 60 years, Elizabeth; six children; 13 grandchildren and one great-grandson.