Wyatt Burghardt Turner, 93, native of New York , New York , Professor Emeritus following retirement in 1979 from the Department of History at State University of New York at Stony Brook, died on January 11, in his home in Riderwood Village , Silver Spring , MD , from recently diagnosed cholangiocarcinoma.

Dr. Turner was known for his tireless struggles for human and civil rights. He grew up in a household dedicated to the causes of race relations and community improvement. His father, Frank M. Turner, Sr., named him after renowned author, historian, sociologist, and activist W. E. Burghardt Du Bois, with whom he worked closely for many years, founding and sustaining the NAACP.

As a teenager Dr. Turner left the household of his parents and five brothers in Jamaica , NY, to care for his grandmother in Richmond , KY , where he finished high school. He went on to Kentucky State College, graduating in 1939 cum laude with honors in history and sociology.

After returning to New York Dr. Turner sought funds for graduate school by starting his own milk delivery route. It was during this endeavor that he met his wife of 66 years, Joyce Moore, daughter of noted author and activist Richard B. Moore. They married in 1942 shortly before he was inducted into the Army. He trained with the African American 92 nd ( Buffalo ) Division at Fort McClellan , Alabama and Fort Huachuca in Arizona . In spite of passing all the tests for officer's training school and ASTP he was denied the opportunity for advanced training by his commanding officer, and eventually was deployed to Italy .

Following discharge in 1946 he returned to New York and the son born during his absence. He resumed graduate studies in history, completing his Masters, and all but his doctoral thesis at Columbia University . As his family grew, the need for full time employment necessitated a halt to that effort.

Due to considerable difficulty locating a job in his field because of the rampant discrimination of the day, Dr. Turner held jobs as a Naval records archivist, and Social Security examiner. His distinguished career as an educator included teaching at all levels: elementary in Bay Shore , NY , where he was the first African American employed in the school district; junior high in New York City ; and high school in Patchogue where he was one of the first African American teachers in the district. During his tenure at Stony Brook he introduced courses in African American History and Native American History in the history Department. As one of the first African American faculty members on the campus he was instrumental in bringing attention to the discrimination experienced by minorities in academia and society in general. He chaired Stony Brook's President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity.

A tireless worker on social issues affecting minorities he helped to found and served as president of the Brookhaven NAACP. He also served as chairperson of the Suffolk County Human Rights Commission and the Economic Opportunity Council of Suffolk County. He was active in attempts to improve the public schools, and was a founding member of the Unitarian Fellowship of Bellport, NY. More recently he served on the Board of the Tucson Association of the Blind in Arizona .

His dedication to promoting a more integrated and diverse society led to recognition by numerous community groups including citations by the Patchogue Men's Club of Temple Beth-El, the Eastern Long Island Association of Negro Business and Professional Women, the National Conference of Christian and Jews, the Long Island Minority educators Association and the Spanish Society of Suffolk County. The University at Stony Brook named its Fellowship Program for Underrepresented Ethnic Minority Graduate Students in his honor in 1988, to recognize his accomplishments and to keep alive his vision of a supportive, integrated community of scholars.

Dr. Lawrence B. Martin, Dean of the Graduate School at Stony Brook, said that Turner had a tremendous impact on him as a person and as a university administrator. He cited the “enormous extended family” of people connected to Dr. Turner through the several hundred fellows and alumni of the Turner Fellowship program, who benefited over the 22 years since its inception, as well as the faculty and staff. He pointed out that Stony Brook enjoys a great reputation nationally for their work in diversity programs that provide access and promote success, and said that all of these accomplishments have been built on foundations laid by Dr. Turner and his colleagues.

Martin related his pride, and that of the university when it granted a well-deserved Doctor of Humane Letters degree to Dr. Turner on May 17, 2007. He called it “…correcting what seemed to many of us to be an injustice in the life of someone who had always fought for justice for others.” Martin called Turner “…a giant of a man and a great champion for equality and for excellence.” Former students remember him fondly as a responsive and kind teacher who “…was a central pillar in conversion to being an open and tolerant person.”

He was a loving parent to his three children. In spite of blindness brought on by Graves Disease that forced him to retire from Stony Brook, he helped Joyce write two books on political activists who emigrated to the U.S. from the Caribbean: Richard B. Moore, Caribbean Militant in Harlem , and Caribbean Crusaders and the Harlem Renaissance. Other publishing efforts included contributions to book chapters and articles written during his tenure at Stony Brook.

Dr. Turner lived in Patchogue , New York , for forty years before moving to Tucson , Arizona , where he spent active retirement years involved in the Unitarian-Universalist Church , organizations for the blind, tutoring children in reading and a resumed interest in the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. Dr. Turner and his wife moved to Riderwood Village retirement community in March of 2006, where he continued his involvement in NAACP, Unitarian- Universalist groups, Alpha Phi Alpha, local politics, and active support for the election of Barack Obama.

He is survived by his wife Joyce, children: Mitchell Turner, Tampa, FL; Dr. Sylvia Turner, Dallas, TX; Richard Turner, Rockville, MD; brothers: Marion Wilberforce Turner, Wilson, NC; and Frost Douglas Turner, Jamaica, NY; five grandchildren, and a large extended family of loving cousins, nieces, nephews, and others.

A memorial service will be held on January 31 at 11:00 a.m., in the Chapel at Riderwood. In lieu of flowers the family has requested that those who wish can make donations to: The Turner Family Memorial Garden Corporation (c/o Edna Turner, 5445 NE 1 st Lane , Ocala , FL 34475 ), or Stony Brook Foundation-Turner Support Fund (c/o Stony Brook Foundation, Stony Brook University , NY 11794 ).