Basil S. Turner*

Basil Turner was born in a log cabin in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, in 1908. He did not start school until he was seven, when a school was built nearby. Turner was the first from his district to graduate from high school and his community loaned him $150 so that he could attend Purdue University. He earned a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering in 1930.

After graduation, Turner joined Chicago Telephone Supply Company in Elkhart, Indiana, where he worked for 52 years. He rose through the company, job by job, until he was named president and CEO. He went on to serve as chairman. When he retired in 1970, the company had 13 manufacturing subsidiaries that provided worldwide distribution of electronic components for radio and television manufacturers. In his later years, Turner established a vocational education center in Elkhart.