Shawn L. Turner

Shawn L. Turner, age 59, of Edwardsville, IL, passed away on Monday, February 17, 2025, in St. Louis, MO.  Shawn was born on January 12, 1966, in St. Louis, MO, the son of Jack and Carolyn (Shaw) Turner. 

Shawn accepted Jesus Christ at an early age, was baptized, and remained a strong believer in Jesus Christ.

Shawn attended St. Louis public schools from kindergarten through his sophomore year of high school where some of his classes were in the gifted program.  For his junior and senior years, he attended Edwardsville High School, where he was a good student, excelling as a multisport athlete in football, wrestling and track before graduating in 1984.

Shawn received a football scholarship to play at the University of Illinois and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology. Following graduation, he worked various jobs and volunteered with the River Bluff Girl Scouts between 1988 and 2015. He received a bachelor’s degree in biology from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in 1995 and took a job at the Edwardsville YMCA where he eventually became the senior fitness center director. After 20 years at the YMCA, Shawn earned his nursing degree from Maryville University in 2015.  Shawn had worked for Gateway Regional Medical Center, John Cochran VA Medical Center, and was currently working at The Rehab Institute of St. Louis.

Shawn’s recreational pursuits included listening to music of various genres, dancing and sharing with loved ones videos of himself dancing on Facebook, his life-long love of reading, especially science fiction, watching foreign movies, and avidly participating in gaming.  

Shawn loved his family, especially his children.  He was proud of them for, Alexus’ courageous handling of her life long health challenges, her strong work ethic and her tremendous knowledge of many genres of music; Linnea’s being an honor student throughout her school career and an accomplished violinist; Joshua’s getting good grades and eagerness to learn new things.

Besides his parents, left to cherish his memory are his three children, Alexus Turner, of Edwardsville, IL; Linnea Turner, of Urbana, IL; and  Joshua Turner, of Edwardsville, IL; a brother, Dwane Turner, of Edwardsville; his fiancée, Cathy Weeks, of Fenton, MO; and many other family and friends.

A visitation will be held on March 1 at St. John's United Methodist Church  at 11 A.M.  A service will follow at 12 P.M. at St. John's United Methodist Church with Rev. Walker Walker presiding.  Interment will follow at Woodlawn Cemetery in Edwardsville.  Condolences may be expressed online at weberfuneralhome.com    In lieu of flowers, please make a contribution to a fund for Shawn’s children (information will be posted online at a later date). Thank you.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Shawn L. Turner, please visit our floral store.