John J. Turchon III, of Fort Worth was born January 7, 1948 in Cleveland, Ohio and passed away at a local hospice on October 1, 2009 from complications related to lung disease. He is predeceased by his father, John J Turchon Jr, and a brother, Mike Turchon.
John is survived by his mother, June Turchon, of Euclid, OH; his sister Patricia (Pete) Steigerwald of Dellroy, OH; his brother, Dennis (Elana) Turchon of San Francisco, CA and his sister-in-law, Nina Turchon of Daytona Beach, FL. He also is survived by three children, Geff, Mark, and Amy Turchon Levon, all living in the Cleveland, OH area. Additionally, Mr. Turchon is mourned by a loving network of business associates and friends from across the country.
John was a part of the performing arts industry for over thirty years in many different capacities. He worked with the Playhouse Square Center (Cleveland, OH), the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (Chicago, IL), the Society for the Performing Arts (Houston, TX), and the Gallo Center for the Arts (Modesto, CA). He also served on the faculty of Columbia College in Chicago, and was on the Advisory Board of the Arts Management Program at Carnegie Mellon University. Mr. Turchon moved to Fort Worth in 2008 to serve as Business Director for the Texas Ballet Theater and had most recently worked with the fledgling Texas Dance Theater.
John’s professional accomplishments were too numerous to be listed here, but included the creation of the first ever Group Sales Department for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, with revenues exceeding $1.0 million annually. He also resolved seating issues that arose with two new construction projects – and two major renovation projects, including the re-seating of as many as 30,000 subscriber households.
Mr. Turchon served on the Board of Directors of the International Ticketing Association (INTIX), was on the INTIX Board for eighteen years, received the INTIX Spirit Award in 2001 and was given the prestigious INTIX Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002. He created the Greater Houston Area Ticketing Association (GHATA) and the Midwest Ticketing Group in Chicago.
Near the end of his life, John expressed the hope that he had made a permanent and lasting contribution to the industry he so loved. On every imaginable scale, he not only reached, but overachieved his goal. Bravo, Mr. Turchon.
A Memorial Service in honor of John’s life will be held on Wednesday, October 7, 2009 at the Wortham Theater, 500 Texas Avenue in Houston @ 2:30pm. Donations to assist in funeral proceedings and expenses will be accepted at the Service with checks made out to Nina Turchon. Contributions may also be sent to Nina at 4746 South Atlantic Drive #5, Ponce Inlet, FL 32127.
May he walk in peace on a new horizon.
