Erol M. Turk

HOUSTON, Texas | Erol M. Turk, 51, passed away on Dec. 23, 2022, with his family and friends by his side. He was born on Oct. 19, 1971, in Plattsburgh, N.Y., son of Hannelore and George Turk. After his first week in kindergarten, Erol decided he wanted to be a teacher and he never changed his mind. He graduated from Westport Central School as valedictorian, attended SUNY Albany and SUNY Plattsburgh and received his master's degree in education from Cambridge College. His first job as teacher was in the Pittsfield Public School, in Pittsfield, Mass., where he taught physics for four years. In 1997 Erol found his dream job at St. John's Academy in Houston, Texas, where his application caught the eye of human resources, listing his hobby as "Punting Chihuahuas for distance." Due to the school's high academic standards, Erol stated he was learning something new almost every day. He was known for his unconventional teaching methods; he just made learning fun. In addition to physics he taught juniors and seniors self-defense, ethics, money management and negotiation, all in preparation for college. Erol loved the martial arts. He started karate lessons at the age of 6, opened his own karate school when he was 15, and continued to explore a wide spectrum of martial arts, even spending two summers training in Thailand, and was a great adversary in Houston's Kickboxing Club. He went skydiving and made a lesson plan for his students out of the experience. Due to a spinal cord injury in a motorcycle accident in 2017, Erol was confined to a wheelchair. It changed his life but not who he was. With an iron will and determination and grueling physical therapy he returned to St. John's to teach. He never lost his sense of humor and his joy for life. Erol is survived by his twin daughters, Lucia and Olivia; by his partner, Kimberly Sterdan, who, as Erol states, has been by his side through some of the best years and some of the worst years of his life. He is also survived by his mother and stepfather, Hannelore and Bill Kissam; stepbrother Todd Kissam and his wife Heather and son Simon; stepbrother Mark Kissam; and his uncle and cousins in Germany. He is predeceased by his father, his aunt Christa, and cousin/role model Joerg Hoepken.

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