Beloved emergency room doctor and dad dead after freak middle-of-the-night fall down basement stairs

A beloved emergency room doctor died after accidentally falling down the basement stairs on the way to the bathroom in the middle of the night. 

Dr James ‘Junior’ Turpin, 53, died on Wednesday evening after falling down his basement steps at his Harrodsburg, Kentucky, home on Sunday morning.  

The doctor suffered serious injuries, and he was taken to the hospital, where he died from his injuries days later, friend and colleague Dr Eric Guerrant told WKYT. 

He leaves behind a son, Jon, a wife, Amy, and his mother, Barbara, his obituary said. 

Friends and family remember Turpin as a person with a unique ability to make any bad situation better. 

‘When James walked into the room, no matter the circumstances, you knew things were going to be okay,’ Guerrant told WKYT. 

He recalled a time Turpin made bracelets that said ‘here to help’ on them. 

‘We all thought it was sort of goofy, but that was James, and we all wore the bracelets, and that changed the whole demeanor of the practice for that year during that tough time,’ Guerrant said, who said Turpin’s purpose was ‘being a gift to other people.’ 

The Kentucky native started his medical career as a nurse, where he got his practical nursing degree from Somerset Community College. He would go on to get a bachelor’s degree from Eastern Kentucky University in 1994. 

Seven years later, Turpin would return to school to earn a degree in chemistry, and eventually earned a medical degree from the University of Kentucky in 2005. 

Throughout his career, the 53-year-old was awarded with many titles, including being the emergency room director at Ephraim McDowell Fort Logan Hospital. 

He also served as chief of staff at Fort Logan and Ephraim from 2019 to 2021. 

Turpin’s love for his career spilled into teaching young students the ropes as a volunteer faculty member at the University of Kentucky’s residency program. He also directed clinical rotations for physician assistant students at Ephraim, his obituary said.

However, his family said his favorite role was being a father and a husband. 

‘[It] meant the most to him,’ his obituary said. 

‘Junior loved spending time with his family going on Jeep rides,’ it continued. ‘Junior and his son Jon enjoyed watching Marvel movies and Star Wars together.’ 

The doctor also enjoyed music and helping people.  

‘As his wife Amy stated: “He wanted everyone to be happy,”‘ the obituary read.