Turk attended a one-room schoolhouse and later William Byrd High School in Vinton, Virginia, graduating in 1939.

Voters in Franklin, Montomery and Roanoke Counties and the city of Radford elected Turk to represent them (part-time) in the Virginia State Senate in November 1959.

The restructuring in the 1965 elections was major: Montgomery and Franklin Counties and the city of Radford were now joined as the 13th district with Carroll and Floyd Counties and the city of Galax (which had been represented as the 14th district by Republican S. Floyd Landreth, who had been the only other Republican in the Senate when Turk began, and who now retired).

Restructuring after the 1970 census also proved major: Turk was elected from the 37th district, which included the cities of Radford and Galax, as well as Carroll, Floyd, Grayson and Montgomery Counties.

He nonetheless continued to hear many cases, stating in May (shortly before his death) that he was planning to reduce his workload in November.

Judge Turk's humility was also shown by his practice of always taking a trash bag on his neighborhood walks, in order to clean up after others.