Longtime publisher of The Current Local, Alan Reed Turley of Van Buren, died December 11, 2014 at his residence in Van Buren. He was born Feb. 1, 1929, in Van Buren, Mo., to parents Carlisle Payton (C.P.) and Bernice (Polk) Turley. He had attained the age of 85 years, 10 months and 10 days. Alan graduated from Van Buren High School in 1947. People said he was an exceptional basketball player, and during his senior year the Van Buren basketball team competed in the state championship final game. While in high school he worked at The Current Local where he learned how to run a Linotype machine. After graduating high school, he moved to Bartlesville, Okla., where he worked at a daily newspaper. He was united in marriage to Marjorie Pearl Rodebush on Dec. 5, 1948. She preceded him in death on Sept. 29, 2007. He and Marge moved to Conway, Ark., where he worked at The Log Cabin Democrat newspaper, and later moved to St. Louis, Mo., to work at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch as a Linotype operator on the night shift. In December of 1957, they purchased The Current Local, in Van Buren, where he was publisher and editor until 1970, when they sold the newspaper. They bought the newspaper again in 1972, and he ran the newspaper until his retirement in November of 2014. He was a dedicated newspaperman most of his life and was a member of Missouri Press. In 1964 he was named an Honorary Colonel in the Missouri Militia, under Governor Dalton. Alan was a member of the First Baptist Church of Van Buren. He loved vintage cars. Survivors include his companion, Charlotte Orchard, of Van Buren; one son, Stephen Turley and wife, Debbie, of Van Buren; two granddaughters, Alison Turley, and Ariel Heise and husband, Shaun, all of Van Buren; one great-granddaughter, Sophia Smialek of Van Buren; two nephews, Dave and Randall Turley, both of Fremont, and a host of relatives and friends who will mourn his passing. The visitation will begin at 6:00 p.m. Monday, Dec. 15, 2014 in the McSpadden Funeral Home in Van Buren, and the funeral will begin at 1:00 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014 in the funeral home chapel. Burial will be in the Wilderness Cemetery, southwest of Van Buren.