Fred L Turner

Frederick Leo Turner was born on Jan. 6, 1933, in Des Moines, where he spent much of his childhood. He met his future wife, Patty Shurtleff, while they were students at Drake University. She died in 2000. In addition to his daughter Paula, survivors include two other daughters, Patty Rhea and Teri Turner, and eight grandchildren. Mr. Turner went to work at the McDonald’s Corporation in 1956 as one of its first employees. He had been flipping hamburgers at a local franchise — learning the ropes as part of a plan to open his own restaurant with business partners — when the chain’s pioneer, Ray A. Kroc, offered a job opening new franchises. He was named vice president for operations in 1958, became president and chief administrative officer in 1968, and was named chief executive in 1974, a position he held until 1987. In 1961 he created Hamburger University, the training program for managers, franchisees and employees. One of Mr. Turner’s biggest successes was the introduction of a McDonald’s breakfast companywide. The Chicken McNugget was a similar breakthrough.