Open to all who appreciated the man and the artist, the great Maple Turner III. Remembrance and artwork on display.

Maple Turner III died at St. Elizabeth hospital on November 26, 2024, with his sister Brunilda Turner by his side. He was born June 11, 1953, in Youngstown, Ohio. He was a 1973 East High graduate. He leaves two sisters, Brunilda Turner of Youngstown, Ohio, Kusana Turner of Richardson, Texas and his Uncle Rodney Turner Sr. Of Youngstown, Ohio. He also leaves his great nephews and niece, Kalan and Ka’Shon and their mother Chanda Walker along with Keilan Turner Jr., of Columbus, Ohio. He leaves many close friends, family members and special cousins Lois Haynes Paige, Port Wentworth, GA and Geralynn Turner Johnson, Richmond, Virginia, along with special friends Darla Dunlap and Chonita Jackson.
He will be greeted in heaven by his parents Maple and Doris (Doll) Turner Jr., grandparents Maple and Nancy Turner Sr., Rev. Stewart and Mamie Grant Sr. And his nephew Keilan Turner Sr., who he helped to rear.
A memorial service will be held July 12th from Noon to 3:00 p.m. at Knox Building, Youngstown, Ohio, 110 W. Federal, 3rd floor (above the Federal restaurant) for family, friends and the Art Community. Special thanks to Dr. Lou Zona, Director of the Butler Institute of American Art for the special honor of recognizing and displaying Maple’s artwork. Arrangements were handled by the professional staff of F. B. Mason Funeral Home. In Maples’s memory, his sisters have planned to open a non-profit children’s art studio. He truly enjoyed teaching art to the children.
Maple Turner III first became interested in art at 6 years old when his Lincoln Elementary School class on Youngstown’s East Side visited the Butler Art Museum and Turner laid his eyes on Sargent’s “Mrs. Knowles and Her Children.” He saw that big painting and it was then he made up his mind that one day he was going to be an artist. At an early age, he was determined that his work would be displayed in this museum.
Maple Turner III graduated from East High School in 1973 and spent 11 years working at Youngstown Sheet and Tube as a pipe inspector. When the mills closed, he eventually went to college to study art and theater, earning a degree from Youngstown State University in 1999. He then became the first YSU student to be accepted at Parsons School of Design in New York City. Maple earned his master’s degree from the prestigious New York Institute.
Turner moved to Paris in 2000 where he continued his studies and returned to New York in 2003. He later returned to Paris.
His career has been prolific, producing thousands of paintings and sculptures and exhibiting throughout the United States, New York, Paris and elsewhere. Since returning to Youngstown to care for his ailing mother who he took care of so lovingly and diligently until her passing, Turner continued to create and share his work throughout the Mahoning Valley, recently at the Butler Institute of American Art. Dr. Lou Zona, the Butler’s Executive Director, called Turner, “a rare talent who seems capable of doing most anything within the art realm.” The Youngstown native is a prolific master of many genres.
It took 53 years for Maple’s art to come to the Butler. During his lifetime career, he created over 195,000 pieces of art. One of his oldest pieces dates to 1969.
In the last 18 months, Turner’s work has been shown at the Butler Institute of American Art and the Mahoning Valley Historical Society’s Tyler History Center.
Some of his most famous art was of the Gilded Age homes, carriages and residents of Youngstown’s Wick Avenue and Crandall Park neighborhoods. It also includes scenes from New York City, where Tuner lived.
Jacob Harver, gallery director of the Knox Building had sponsored a “Cultures” exhibition of Maples work on two floors in which featured Maple’s 10-foot by 12-foot painting “Let us Not Forget 9/11” (2005), a larger than life and spellbinding piece was displayed that compelled viewers to linger and then return. Turner said it was inspired by the terror attacks on New York’s World Trade Center. About 100 to 150 people attended.
Maple loved the Lord and was looking forward to seeing his Father God in Heaven along with his many loved ones who had gone on before him.