Longtime county commissioner and Church of God pastor Carl Turman passed away Monday at his home.

Turman, 72, served as an ordained bishop and pastor of several Church of God churches in the Covington County area for 38 years. He was also district overseer for the area.

He worked as a meat inspector for the Department of Agriculture and Industries for 28 years.

He was serving his third term as county commissioner for District 4, but chose not to seek reelection this year.

People knew Turman for his service.

He was a long-time pastor at Andalusia Church of God.

“He was a great pastor and musician,” said current Andalusia Church of God pastor Glenn Vaughn. “He and his sons and wife, have traveled around the community doing benefits at a lot of different churches. There’s so much you can say about him. He was an asset and a leader.”

Vaughn said Turman was an asset in getting the last sanctuary at Andalusia COG built.

South Church of God Pastor Jon Chappelle, who is the pastor at Turman’s church, called Turman “a giant in the Church of God.”

“There are a countless number of ministers in this state who looked up to him,” Chappelle said. “They saw him as a spiritual father and a role model. He has been my rock I have leaned on.

During his campaign for re-election to the commission in 2012, Turman said during his tenure, he saw something accomplished he never though possible – dirt roads made passable even in bad weather.

“That was something I wanted done when I first took office,” he said.

He and Commissioner Harold Elmore were elected to the commission in the same year.

“We served together on the commission almost 12 years,” Elmore said. “I never knew him before then. I met him at a Florala football game when we were running, and I really enjoyed working with Carl. We worked well together. We didn’t always see eye to eye, but we could depend on one another. I’m gonna miss him very much.”

Elmore said as late as Friday, Turman called him to discuss county business.

“We touched base regularly,” Elmore said, “not just about the county, but about football and family, too. I’m really going to miss him.”

Survivors include his wife, Bobbie Turman; and sons, James Larry (Debbie) Turman of Andalusia and Joey (Lee Ann) Turman of Mobile. For complete obituary information, see Page 4.