Community turns out for Dale Turner YMCA grand opening

He was a man who never forgot a name, beloved for his compassion and kindness. Now, a gleaming new YMCA in Shoreline ensures that his name will never be forgotten.

The Dale Turner Family YMCA, at 19290 Aurora Ave. N., officially opened Saturday, a tribute to the former senior minister at University Congregational Church and longtime Seattle Times columnist. The grand opening drew people of all ages and backgrounds, a representation of community that Turner, who died in 2006, would have enjoyed.

More than 1,000 people streamed through the door within the first hour. "We were hoping for 1,500 all day," says executive director Courtney Whitaker.

Turner, who lived in Lake Forest Park, briefly considered a career with the YMCA and had volunteered with the organization while in college and divinity school. Eventually, he chose the ministry but continued to support the organization, becoming one of few people given the title "Life Board Member" by the Greater Seattle YMCA.

Turner, Whitaker said, truly embodied the organization's values of community and self-sacrifice. "It's an honor that the family has allowed us to put his name on our building," she said.

The 52,000-square-foot facility — the first of three planned through the YMCA of Greater Seattle's $40 million campaign — was chaotic with activity. Two other facilities recently broke ground in Newcastle and SeaTac.

More than 150 staff members and volunteers were on hand for the events in Shoreline. Basketballs flew, water splashed, faces were painted, hula hoops made. Curious families took guided tours led by lime-green-shirted volunteers, and in the kitchen classroom, Chef Thierry Rautureau of Rover's restaurant made heirloom tomato bisque for curious onlookers.

The new YMCA is more than seven times as big as the one it replaces. "This cardio center alone is as big as that whole facility," Whitaker said, motioning to a cavernous upstairs room where people tried out stair climbers, treadmills and other exercise machines.

Elsewhere, belly dancers shimmied in the gymnasium, kids took turns on a 28-foot climbing wall and seniors tried their hand at seated yoga. The facility also includes a drop-in teen center open to nonmembers.

Don Mallett, a 30-year YMCA board member, knew Turner from University Congregational, and said Turner was an easy choice when it came time to name the facility.

Turner had officiated at the wedding of board member Pearl Noreen and husband Ken the day after they graduated from the University of Washington, and 25 years later, when they sent him an invite to their anniversary party, he showed up. That's the kind of guy he was.

That kind of generosity, plus his service to the organization, "was important to all of us," Mallett said. "We thought: 'Yeah, that works. This man was what we are all about.' "

A plaque dedicated to Turner outside the community room noted his "commitment to service and the building of community through bringing people of all backgrounds together. He was an inspiration to many."

Shoreline resident Dana Avedovech was already planning to hold her daughter's birthday party here next year. Though she knew Turner only from reading his columns, she says, she appreciated his Christian values.

"I think certain religious figures really get away from that," she says. "This place represents ... togetherness. It's great they named the facility after him ... . It's like a small town within a big city."

Marc Ramirez: 206-464-8102 or mramirez@seattletimes.com