During a 2022 interview with KHOU 11 anchor Len Cannon, Turner shared that faith helped him through grueling treatment for osteosarcoma, a bone cancer.

U.S. Representative and former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner died Wednesday, aged 70. Turner was one of Houston’s most prominent politicians for decades, having served as a state representative from 1989 until 2016,

News of former Houston Mayor and U.S. Congressman Sylvester Turner's death traveled quickly Wednesday as many fellow legislators and public figures posted to social media about Turner’s legacy in Houston. Mayor John Whitmire said Wednesday that Turner, 70, was working in Washington D.C., and was taken to the hospital and died.