Turner R. Odell ’50

Turk died March 15, 2021, in Portland, Ore.

He came from Woodberry Forest to Princeton, where his father was Class of 1906. He rowed on the 150-pound crew, wrestled JV, and belonged to Dial. After graduating with honors in modern languages and literatures, he went to England and completed graduate work in English at the University of Leeds.

Returning to the United States, he entered OCS at Newport, R.I., and received his commission in the Navy. After more than five years working for naval intelligence in Washington and England, he joined the Central Intelligence Agency in Langley, Va. During his 35-year career with the CIA, he analyzed Soviet military spending and helped develop cutting-edge computer models of the Soviet economy. 

In 1993 he retired to South Dartmouth, Mass., with his wife, Caralee, whom he had met in Maine and married in 1952. Following Caralee’s passing in 2006, he eventually moved to Portland.

Turk was a lifelong learner with a keen interest in national and international affairs. An extensive traveler, he spoke four languages. His love of the water never left him as he enjoyed sailing and just walking the beaches. 

Described as “a gentle man to the end,” he is survived by son Turner, daughter Lindley Kramer Rabin ’85, and their children.