HUNTINGDON, Tenn. — Jesse Turner erected a memorial in honor of his son Nolan and Nolan’s mother Courtney, both of whom died in a drunk driving car crash. Turner has since raised money for a foundation scholarship in many unique ways.
“Part of the mission is to enrich the future of students – to invest in it. But the other part of the mission now is to have a positive impact on the communities they care about,” Turner said.
Turner has made connections with artists in Huntingdon and Carroll County, both of which were home to Courtney and Nolan.
“When we started the memorial fund, we were really just raising money for scholarships and we wanted to do something that was fun, creative – something that was similar to the way people live their lives rather than being sad,” Turner said.
In the past, they’ve designed mugs, t-shirts, and bracelets featuring work by local artists and drawings by Courtney and Nolan. Their latest creation is a piece of art by Nolan.
This design was created due to a lack of decorations for Nolan’s 11th birthday party.
“I didn’t have any decorations though. We had cakes and stuff and he said, ‘Oh, I can draw something.’ He and his sister made this banner and came up with the idea of stringing through the paper – sketching everything out, and then he made a sign for it too. So those were his contributions to it. I usually throw stuff like that away after the party and he said, ‘Can I hang this in my room?’ and I said, ‘Absolutely.’ Here he hung it and it’s been hanging here ever since,” Turner said.
These shirts are for sale and proceeds go to the Nolan and Courtney Memorial Fund.
“When we first put it up for sale, we just made them ourselves here and a friend of mine who was Nolan’s T-ball coach said, when you’re ready, I’d be happy to help you,” Turner said.
Turner said these jerseys will arrive in time for Tennessee Vols games, as he and his daughter will soon be attending their first game.
Turner says that continuing Nolan’s legacy has been very emotional for him overall.
“It’s really incredible. It was super emotional, but also very – there was just a great sense of gratitude because art was something he loved and to see that a team he loved would even see his banner just made him so excited,” Turner said.
Nolan’s design will be available in either orange and white or white and orange for fans to wear at Checkered-Neyland games.
Turner also says that Nolan’s sister started drawing since she lost her brother.
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