A Champion of Gay rights and the Arts Rev Turney is dead

                                                                              

The Rev. Anthony Turney, archdeacon of the arts at Grace Cathedral and former head of the Names Project - the custodian organization of the AIDS Memorial Quilt - died of cancer in San Francisco on July 4, the 38th anniversary of his becoming a U.S. citizen.

The Rev. Turney, a native of Great Britain, was a longtime advocate for social justice and the arts. His career included a stint as deputy chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, and director of administration at theSan Francisco Opera. He was a devoted part of Grace Cathedral for almost two decades.

David Perry, who met the Rev. Turney in 1984, remembers hearing his "blooming English accent" for the first time as the elevator doors opened on his first day of work at the NEA. The Rev. Turney would become Perry's friend, mentor and role model. He would also officiate the wedding of Perry to his husband, Alfredo Casuso. The couple took care of the Rev. Turney in the last two years, and as his health deteriorated, they had him move in with them.

"He was one of the most courageous people I know," Perry said. "He was openly gay before it was safe and wise to be openly gay. He was out in his professional life in D.C., and when he joined the church. When he became an ordained person, he had no patience for hypocrisy, yet his kindness and intellect were present in equal terms.” 

The Rev. Turney became involved with the quilt after his partner, James Brumbaugh, died of AIDS-related causes in Washington, D.C., in 1992. After completing a quilt panel for Brumbaugh, the Rev. Turney moved to San Francisco and within months became head of the Names Project. In 1996, he would help transport the entire quilt - more than 42,000 panels at the time - to Washington, where it was viewed by 1.2 million people.

Broken family

The Rt. Rev. Marc Andrus, bishop of the Episcopal diocese of California, said that Turney "was a central part of the life of the diocese," not only in terms of serving the ministry, but also in seeking social justice for LGBT people and people living with AIDS.

The Rev. Turney was born in Sutton, England, in 1937, to a broken family. His early years were spent in a children's home, before the Turney family adopted him when he was 4 years old. After serving in the British police force and the Grenadier Guards, an infantry regiment of the British Army, he moved to the United States in 1968.

Eventually, he became an independent events producer in New York and was hired by the NEA shortly thereafter.

Kary Schulman, director of Grants for the Arts in San Francisco and a close friend of the Rev. Turney, said: "He was one part Dalai Lama, one part David Niven and maybe one part Dorothy from 'The Wizard of Oz.' Perhaps it's a silly pun, but his life had many turnings, and every time he turned it was in the exactly right direction."

One of those directions was Grace Cathedral, where he was a parishioner before becoming a clergyman. He rose to the position of archdeacon, and after retiring, was appointed archdeacon for the arts. He took this opportunity to bring art to the cathedral, a mission that Andrus described as "both beautiful and meaningful."

Inclusive ministry

One of his most successful ventures was bringing in the Keiskamma Altarpiece, which was made in Hamburg, South Africa. Many men in Hamburg had died of AIDS, and women from the small town decided to create this piece in their honor.

The Rt. Rev. Andrus said that the Rev. Turney's efforts to bring the Keiskamma Altarpiece relate "to the questions of sexual orientation and spirituality" that were central to his life.

"He strived to create a ministry of inclusion and anti-isolation," the Rt. Rev. Andrus says, "and his work reflected these efforts."

The Rev. Turney attempted to connect his work for the Names Project with the commitment to his spiritual home at Grace Cathedral. He was instrumental in creating the AIDS Memorial Chapel, the one place in the church that, as the Rt. Rev. Andrus explains, "touches the hearts of people the most. Many tourists and visitors come, and they love the space and the artwork, but it is the chapel that stays with them."

A funeral and celebration of the Rev. Turney's life will be held at 11 a.m. Monday at Grace Cathedral, 1100 California St., San Francisco. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to the Sacred Dying Foundation; the Rainbow Honor Walk; or the Ghiberti Foundation, the arts and culture foundation at Grace Cathedral.

Bojan Srbinovski is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail:bsrbinovski@sfchronicle.com