Updated 4:54 a.m., Wednesday, July 9, 2014:
De Vilbiss Funeral Home in Radford has announced the arrangements for U.S. District Court Judge James Turk, who died Sunday at the age of 91. The family will receive friends from noon to 3 p.m. on Friday, July 11 at Radford’s First Baptist Church. A memorial service at the church will follow at 3 p.m. The family is planning a private burial.
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Original Post: 7:58 a.m., Monday, July 7, 2014:
A judge who served more than 40 years on the federal bench in Roanoke has died. U.S. District Court Judge James Turk died Sunday night at the age of 91. Turk was appointed to the court by President Richard Nixon, and never really retired. He took senior status in 2002, but continued hearing cases. In May he said he planned to cut back significantly on his work in November. Turk grew up in Roanoke, and graduated from Roanoke College and Washington and Lee University Law school. He practiced law in Radford and served in the state senate from 1959 to 1972, when he was appointed to the court. Among his many high-profile trials was the 1981 libel suit the Rev. Jerry Falwell filed against Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt. Funeral arrangements were not known Monday morning
