After graduation I went to work for WR Grace in Wilmington, NC. Our plant imported ammonia and urea and produced nitric acid, ammonium nitrate and other products for industrial and fertilizer markets. I received an MBA from UNCW in 1985. After 23 years with Grace I participated in a leveraged buy-out of the Wilmington and Memphis plants. Our company sold to Arcadian Corp., which later was bought by Potash Corp. I retired with Potash in 1999.

I have been happily married to Lynda Cook Turpin for 46 years. Lynda and I live in Landfall, a gated golfing and tennis development across the waterway from Wrightsville Beach. We have views of the South end of Figure 8 and the North end of Wrightsville Beach. I still play golf and tennis and we both enjoy working in our yard.

In my spare time I am an artist of sorts. I work mostly in pastel, but also acrylic, casein, watercolor, and to a lesser extent oil. My website is johnturpinart.com. For a number of years I showed my work at a local restaurant, Marks on Market, and a couple of local galleries. Now that Marks is closed I show in a few art shows and my home. Prints of my work are also used by the local film industry. The movie “Arthur Newman, Golf Pro” used 20 of my prints.