With heavy hearts, we mourn the passing of Belmont Mayor Richard Turner, a strong leader whose mark on our community will forever be cherished.
His wife, Marie Turner, shared a social media post remembering her husband as a man of faith who was a loving father and her best friend.
She also mentioned Richard Turner’s love of Belmont.
“He absolutely loved Belmont with all his heart with the strongest passion to help and serve this city always. Even as he was in the hospital, he was still answering citizens texts, emails, voicemails, etc. and watched the online (council) meetings ongoing even though he was in tremendous pain,” she said.
He became mayor last November after making the decision to run for the seat in light of the former mayor’s resignation, though he had been serving on the Council for several years.
Former Belmont councilwoman Martha Stowe worked with Turner for more than 10 years over the course of her time with the city.
"In the last campaign when he and I were running for mayor, he walked the streets. He went door-to-door and made a real impact when he did that," Stowe said.
Stowe added that Turner collaborated with the city on several projects to positively impact the community in his career, and that he committed much of his time to the city.
"Richard Turner considered public service to be his career," she said. "He was very proud of his public service."