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GREENSBORO — Every Southern town has an Atticus Finch, or needs one.

Like the lawyer Gregory Peck played in “To Kill a Mockingbird,” he’s the first to stand when someone enters the room, man or woman. And he’s the last to dispense with a starched shirt, coat and tie, even on the hottest nights.

That was the James R. Turner friends toasted Sunday afternoon with widow Carolyn Turner, after learning that the former state senator and former elections board chairman had died last week after a battle with cancer.

Turner, 75, was a familiar and respected figure at the courthouse and in political circles, involved in helping recast election law and instrumental in low-income housing initiatives as legal representative for the city Housing Authority.

But as demonstrated by the friends who crowded into his home to regale his widow and his children with stories about him, Turner’s life had as many facets as his town.

He wrote for the newspaper, volunteered at the homeless shelter, was an architectural critic, worked with the Boy Scouts, did mediation cases, and in recent years was a precept for Elon University Law School.

“He was the consummate Southern gentleman,” said friend Walter Faison, who attended Holy Trinity Episcopal Church with Turner. “People respected him because of his manner, the way he dealt with people.”

Turner, a Yale law graduate and Navy veteran, met his wife in Greensboro when she was a graduate student at UNCG. They were married within six months, and stayed that way for 42 years.

The secret to their longevity?

“Him,” Carolyn Turner answered without hesitation, as their son William arrived from Charlotte, their daughter Susannah greeted guests, and the voices of Jim Turner’s friends filled their home.

“It was a wonderful life.”

His funeral is at 2 p.m. today at Holy Trinity, 607 N. Greene St.

Contact Lorraine Ahearn at 373-7334 or lorraine.ahearn@news-record.com