Austin Nikolai Turner

Austin Turner, 28, passed away on Saturday, June 21, 2025 at his home in West Des Moines. He was born in Kansk, Russia on May 19, 1997, and came to live with his adoptive parents and sister in West Des Moines a year later. He would grow to be proud of his Russian heritage, and closely followed events in his native land.

Austin graduated from Valley High School in 2015, and recently graduated from DMACC with plans to attend Grand View University this fall. “A.T.,” as his close friends and teammates called him, grew up in athletics, and especially loved being part of the Valley Football, Des Moines Oak Leafs Hockey, and West Des Moines Tiger Lacrosse high school teams. He continued to have a passion for workouts and weightlifting, and also coached high school lacrosse, and was a youth hockey official.

Austin was a true innocent and loved everyone. He had a wicked sense of humor seeing the humor in most things in life. If a conversation got too heavy, he would often interject something humorous to lighten things up. Not only was he light-hearted, he loved animals and furry things. His family misses him greatly, and will always cherish his wide smile and big hugs that he loved to give.

Austin is survived by his parents, Beech and Dianna Turner of West Des Moines; his sister, Sarah Turner of Waukee; uncles, Eric (Lisa) Turner of Urbandale and Alec (Nancy) Turner of Corning Iowa; and aunts, Betsy (Scott) Akin of Corning, Sandy Swanson of Decorah, Iowa, and Sharon (Dan) Greiman of Branson, Missouri; and many cousins and friends.

A private family graveside service will be held at Glendale Cemetery in Des Moines. In lieu of a memorial, the family asks that you remember the good times you had with A.T. Be grateful for God’s gift of life and the blessing of children, family and friends.

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