Latham man’s obit a warning to smokers

Geoff Turner asked his daughter to grab his laptop earlier this month. He had something he wanted to show her.

Sarah Huiest knew it may have something to do about his funeral plans. Turner had been diagnosed with stage four lung cancer in November and his health was quickly declining.

When the computer screen powered up, Turner showed her an obituary, one that he wrote about himself.

“I was an idiot who made the same stupid decision, day-after-day, multiple times per day,” read the first line. “I was a smoker and even though I knew it may eventually kill me, I chose to deny the truth to myself.”

Turner, a 66-year-old Latham resident, died on Feb. 13. His final message for people was a warning not to make the same mistake that he did.

“If you’re a smoker — quit now,” Turner said in the obituary that was published in Saturday’s Times Union. “Your life depends on it and those that you love depend upon your life.”

The longtime Capital Region resident smoked most of his life, giving it up for a period of time before turning back to it again and smoking multiple times a day, Huiest told the Times Union on Tuesday.

Huiest said her father knew the habit was terrible for him and that the family thought it was disgusting. Her father knew he should give it up. But it was an addiction.

“The pain and suffering I caused my family was not worth the perceived ‘satisfaction’ that really did nothing more than waste money, separate me from my family, and eventually destroyed my body,” he wrote.

In November, Turner got the bad news from doctors. He had lung cancer caused by years of excessive smoking. Three months later he died.

“At 66 years old, I lived a decent life,” Turner said in the obituary. “But there are so many events and milestones I will not be able to share with my loved ones.”

Turner leaves behind his wife of 41 years, Josie Turner, five children, four grandchildren, a brother and friends.

Since the obituary was published, Huiest said the family has received many messages, some from people who lost a loved one also because of smoking, and others who promised to share his final message in hopes of helping other smokers.

Huiest wasn’t surprised her father opted to write his own obituary. But she thought it would have been all about his accomplishments, his world travels, his career, or his love for the environment. Or possibly even about his simple acts of kindness.

So, when she read the obituary she was surprised.

“It was all the truth, but it was extremely self-deprecating. He was taking responsibility,” Huiest said. “Reading it, I don’t think I’ve ever been prouder of him.”

A Celebration of Life in honor of Geoff Turner will be held March

9, in the Community Reformed Church of Colonie, 701 Sand Creek Road, Albany.

“Remember,” Turner wrote, “Life is good — don’t let it go up in smoke.”