Sylvester Turner eulogized as a man of faith, family and public service to Houston

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Congressman and former Houston mayor Sylvester Turner was laid to rest Saturday, culminating a week of memorials and tributes, with friends and colleagues across political lines celebrating him as an icon of the city who lived a life of public service with joy and faith.

Turner died March 5 at the age of 70 in Washington, D.C., due to ongoing health struggles, according to his family. Saturday’s service at The Church Without Walls, Turner’s longtime church, drew more than 1,000 mourners from across Houston, Texas and the nation.

Ashley Turner-Captain, Turner’s only child, recalled her father as a man who lived every aspect of his life with passion, whether it was his work as a public official, his dedication to his family or his faith as a Christian.

“Let my dad be the example of how to live life in your purpose,” Turner-Captain said. “He has taught us that as long as you still have breath in your body, you still have purpose to fulfill.”

Turner-Captain recalled watching her father making speeches on the floor of the Texas House of Representatives during her spring break growing up and said it gave her a “front row seat on how to advocate, negotiate and amplify the voice of my community. … It was my honor to share him with the world.”

He also brought joy to those around him and “knew every line dance that was ever created,” Turner-Captain said.

A montage of Turner giving speeches, interacting with constituents and dancing was played as his family was escorted into the church’s foyer for the start of the service.

Music, a love of the former mayor’s, was at the center of much of the event. Proceedings kicked off with a solo violin rendition of the Star Spangled Banner and a booming gospel choir filled the near-capacity sanctuary throughout much of the service.

A testament to the late congressman, former mayor and former state representative’s nearly 35-year political career, the funeral service drew local, state and national public officials.

“In the limited time we had with Sylvester Turner, it was so clear to us that he loved Houston,” U.S. House of Representatives Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, of New York, said. “He just loved and adored Houston, just talked about Houston all the time.”

Despite Turner only being sworn in as a congressman in January, Jeffries was part of a 20-person bipartisan Congressional delegation that traveled to Houston for the service. Houston Mayor John Whitmire, also a longtime colleague of Turner’s in the Texas Legislature, along with a delegation from the United States Conference of Mayors, attended to pay tribute to Turner.

“When I think of Sylvester, more than anything else, I think of love,” Harris County Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis said. “Here was a guy who loved everything he did and he loved everyone he worked with, even when they were working against him. He didn’t hold grudges, and that’s a hard thing to do in politics.”

A friend of Turner’s since they met in high school when Turner was 16, Ellis said his only regret is that he was not able to see the completion of the work Turner wanted to do in Congress.

Dr. Ralph Douglas West, who delivered the eulogy, recalled discussing Turner’s cancer shortly after his diagnosis.

“I’ve got to serve and work until the end,” Turner told West.

Turner underwent treatment for bone cancer in 2022. He announced he was cancer-free following surgery and treatment that resulted in the loss and reconstruction of a portion of his left jawbone. He said he had largely recovered from the disease during his 2024 campaign for Congress.

The Democrat’s death leaves the 18th Congressional District seat vacant for the second time in a year due to a death. Turner was the first person elected to a full term in the congressional district following U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee’s death last July, a seat he ran for because he said he wanted to continue her long legacy.

Jackson Lee, a close friend and political ally of Turner, was invoked throughout the service as mourners remarked on the loss of two Houston icons in less than a year.

“You never wanted to be behind him on a program,” said Ronald C. Green, former Houston controller and city council member. “That was the kiss of death. There were two people, Sheila Jackson Lee and Sylvester Turner, so we always made sure to get there early if we knew they were coming.”

During Jackson Lee’s funeral in July, Turner thanked her for “bringing the world to the 18th Congressional District.” Mourners on Saturday said he did much of the same for the city of Houston throughout his career.

Turner’s love of his home was invoked multiple times throughout the service.

“He lived in his beloved Acres Homes neighborhood until the day he was taken from us,” said Dr. Samuel J. Gilbert II, pastor at Mt. Sinai Baptist Church who delivered a tribute to Turner.

The success of Turner’s career and passion for his neighborhood proved to the young people living in the neighborhood now that “where you come from doesn’t determine where God can take you,” Gilbert added.

Turner was born Sept. 27, 1954, in the northwest Houston neighborhood of Acres Homes to Ruby Mae Turner and Eddie Turner. His father died when he was 13.

Ruby Mae, a maid at the Rice Hotel in downtown Houston, pushed the former mayor to continue his education and follow his ambitions.

Ellis recalled the two of them being bused from Acres Homes to Klein High School, where they were on the debate team together.

“Sylvester grew up dreaming on that bus of one day joining the important people in one of those skyscrapers downtown,” Ellis said. “The special thing about Sylvester Turner, he wasn’t just dreaming for himself, he was dreaming for all of us.”

The sixth of nine children, Turner went on to become high school valedictorian. He earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Houston in 1977, and earned his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1980.

In 1987, Turner joined the Houston chapter of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, an organization that was at the center of much of his life.

Brothers from the fraternity kicked off the service, remembering Turner as a dedicated member of the chapter. More than 100 men in black suits with gold and black ties and pocket squares ringed the sanctuary for prayer, speeches about Turner’s dedication to the chapter and to sing the “Alpha Hymn.”

Green, who met Turner in the fraternity, said he always supported his fraternity brothers and his chapter in every elected office he served. Green credited much of the success of his own political career to the fraternity and his friendship with Turner.

“Sylvester Turner was the real deal. He was something special,” Green said.

Turner first ran for mayor in 1991, resulting in one of the most contentious races in Houston’s history after KTRK Channel 13 ran what later was revealed to be a false story questioning his role in a life insurance scam days before a runoff. He lost the runoff to Bob Lanier.

West called that campaign one of the lowest points of the future congressman’s life, but he said Turner continued to fight on for himself and for the city in spite of it.

“He never held grudges on things like that,” West said. “He always knew that God was greater than any setback.”

After the 1991 election Turner went on to make a name for himself as an effective, bipartisan legislator in Austin.

He ran again for mayor, unsuccessfully, in 2003. It was not until 2015 that Houston elected him mayor where he would serve eight years and lead the city through a series of natural disasters, most prominently Hurricane Harvey in 2017, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jeffries said Turner’s leadership as mayor through the many disasters should serve as a lesson to all in attendance at the service.

“There was trouble on every side, but through it all, Sylvester Turner was never distressed,” Jeffries said. “He always delivered for the people of Houston, making it through storm after storm after storm. It’s that kind of demeanor that all of us need to make it through a time like this.”

Disclosure: University of Houston has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

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