M-A-R-L-A-N-D

A tribute to MARLAND. Marland was the janitor at Bonneville when I went there. You couldn't go to any game without him being there cheering the Lakers on. His poems and L-A-K-E-R-S CHEERS were famous. He will be missed. Here are a few things I found out about this amazing person. I tried to find a picture but... couldn't.


Love for the Lakers made Turner a special cheerleader.
When Marland Turner passed away last Sunday, Bonneville High School lost perhaps its biggest fan.
Turner, a fixture at BHS sports events for many years, died at age 63. He had worked as a custodian at Bonneville High for more than 40 years, and was fiercely vocal in his love for the Lakers, an energetic fixture on the sidelines.
Turner, a Nebraska native who lived most of his life in Utah, also was a torch bearer preceding the 2002 Winter Olympic Games.

February 7: Lots of small towns today, we're covering a good volume of torchbearers the last 2 days. One of the best moments of the relay is in Ogden early in the morning. Marland Turner is a high school janitor, he writes poems before every football and basketball game, and hasn't missed a game in nearly 30 years - the students absolutely adore him. He is the true definition of community inspiration, and when he runs, the ENTIRE school runs with him, probably 1000 people cramming both sides of the street and making their way down the route.

Marland Turner, a janitor at Bonneville High School in Washington Terrace, Utah, near Ogden. A 1965 graduate, he took the humble job in 1974 and has swept up hearts ever since. Early Thursday morning, the marching band played and the student body chanted ''Mar-land! Mar-land!'' as he jogged by with the flame on Marland Turner Day in Washington Terrace. The faculty paid for his torch as a souvenir.As he rode the van to his starting point, Turner, a tireless local volunteer, had composed a poem for the day, as he does for Bonneville High's sports teams: ''Roses are red, violets are blue, today I hope/ your run comes true.''

Here's to you Marland!!!!