CHARLOTTE AMALIE — Former U.S. Virgin Islands Governor Charles W. Turnbull died this morning while receiving medical treatment on the U.S. mainland. He was 87.
Turnbull, a historian by trade, was elected governor as a Democrat He went on to serve for two consecutive four-year terms, beginning his tenure in January of 1999.
Prior to holding the top office in the territory, he was a professor at the University of the Virgin Islands, commissioner and assistant commissioner in the Virgin Islands Department of Education (VIDE), principal and assistant principal of Charlotte Amalie High School, and a teacher in elementary and secondary schools.
Not well-known in the political circles before running for the territory’s top position in 1998, Turnbull easily defeated incumbent Governor Roy Lester Schneider, who was addled by scandals within his administration.
The main library on St. Thomas is named in his honor. It is called the Charles Wesley Turnbull Regional Public Library.