Jude Turpin

Jude Turpin (October 14, 1959 – July 10, 2018) entered his heavenly home to be with his Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, this past Tuesday, at approximately two o’clock in the afternoon. He was surrounded by his immediate family and several siblings as his soul and spirit were freed from his earthly tabernacle.  Jude had been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour in late June 2018.

Predeceased by his father, Thomas, Jude was a loving and devoted husband, father, son, brother, and friend. He leaves behind his wife of 26 years, Sonja; their three children: Lucy, Tom, and Ian; his mother, Carmel; his sisters, Paula (Bob) Buchanan, Margo (Doug) Fraser, Angie (Daniel) Mackey, and Lola (Allan) Thorne; his brothers, Wayne (Lily), Chris (Ann-Marie), Mark (Charlene), Kurt; many nieces, nephews, extended family members, and friends; Sonja’s parents Werner (deceased) and Nancy Bubigkeit; Sonja’s sister, Tanja; and  special friend, Elaine Turpin-Pauls, who has shown Jude and his family kindness throughout the years, and visited Jude in hospital representing far-away family members early in Jude’s sickness.

Jude’s family and friends wish to extend a special Thank You to the doctors, nurses, and staff at both the Health Sciences Centre Neurosurgery Unit and the Palliative Care Unit at the Miller Centre. Their compassionate care, help, and respect are sincerely appreciated.

Jude was born in St. Lawrence, Newfoundland, where he grew up working alongside his siblings in various family enterprises, including an extensive bus service run by his father. Jude spent some time in western Canada during his early 20’s, returning to St. John’s in 1986 where he has resided until now.

Jude was employed as a porter by City Hotels (Ramada Inn) since April 2017 and prior to that worked as a multi-talented repair and maintenance employee in the hospitality industry. He excelled as a steady and responsible “jack-of-all-trades” who enjoyed helping clients, friends, and relatives with his handyman skills.

Most importantly to Jude, and what he would want known to all, he accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour in his mid-20’s. While reading the Bible he came to understand his condition as a sinner and his need for a new spiritual birth.  In his search of the New Testament he encountered a verse to which he has testified many times, “That’s it! It’s so simple!”  This is the truth he found in Romans 10:19,  “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.”

The value of hard work, integrity, and respect was instilled in Jude in his youth and served him well throughout his life. Additionally, Jude was immensely influenced by his faith in Jesus Christ.  Although he considered himself a “hands-on” person, and not academically inclined, he had a love and deep devotion to God’s word, the Bible, which shaped the convictions and principles by which he lived.

Some of his last sentences (on June 27th) were: “I’m thankful… for what I know. I’m very thankful … to have peace.. I have with Sonja and myself and my kids.  … I can’t say enough, but we are resting in the Lord… and I’m thankful for that, and that’s all I can do.  I just want to let people know, that I’m very thankful for what I have.”

Through his knowledge of God’s word, Jude had confidence of his eternal destiny being in heaven with his Saviour. One passage which provided this confidence to Jude’s heart is found in the 2nd Epistle to the Corinthian believers: “So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord.  For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.”  2 Corinthians 5:6-8

Jude would not want anyone to grieve for him – he is now far better off than any earthling could ever dream. But he would sincerely hope that each person he ever knew would give their hearts to Christ as he did, and thereby ensure their redemption and eternal destiny as well.

The Bible names all believers as saints, so calling Jude a “saint” would not be presumptuous, according to God’s word. As such, the following is a comfort to all he’s left behind:

Precious in the sight of the Lord

Is the death of His saints.  Psalm 116:15.

Jude’s presence no longer remains on this earth, but the memory of him will continue in the minds and hearts of those left behind. To honor that memory, the family will receive friends, associates, co-workers, and the general public at Carnell’s Funeral Home, 329 Freshwater Road, St. John’s, on Thursday, July 12th and Friday, July 13th, 2018 from 6-9 pm.  Visitation will include open casket viewing.  A Memorial service will be held at Carnell Memorial Chapel, Saturday, July 14th at 2pm with reception to follow.  All are welcome.  If you are unable to attend the funeral,  you can watch it live by clicking on this link: https://youtu.be/RP4H3OQXkaI

To honour Jude’s practical ways, offers of flowers are appreciated but gratefully declined. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Miller Centre Palliative Care Unit on Jude and Sonja Turpin’s behalf.