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The funeral is 11 a.m. at Third Mount Olive Baptists Church, with burial at West Point Memorial Gardens.
Sen. Hob Bryan (D-Amory) was Turner's desk mate in the Senate for 20 years.
"He was a good friend," he said. "He's probably one of the most respected and beloved members of the state Senate since I've been there. If you wanted to find...something negative about Bennie, I don't know where you'd go to look. I don't think there are many people in the legislature you can say that about."
The 64-year-old succumbed to an illness Tuesday at the University Medical Center. It was Bryan who informed the media.
Hob Bryan on Turner
Turner was a graduate of the now-defunct Mary Holmes College in West Point. He moved on to Mississippi State and then to the Ole Miss Law School. He became an attorney, a broadcaster and a member of the legislature, serving on the judiciary and appropriation committees, as well as ethics and helping author education measures.
Bryan said one of the many high points of Turner's Senate doings was helping come up with the formula for the Miss. Adequate Education Program (MAEP), which has become the standard by which public schools are funded on a state level.
"But, I think more than any particular piece of legislation, when I talk to people about Bennie, they go on at leangth about what a positive influence he was on everyone. He was calm, dignified. He was just one of these people that had a presence about him."
Visitation is 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday at Turner and Associates Law Office.
