Mayor Sylvester Turner announces the engagement of daughter Ashley Turner

“I’m sorry if I’m a little excited, my daughter got engaged today,” he said. “I said ‘yes’ before she did. She was taking too long to say ‘yes’. “

The announcement of the engagement came a day after Ashley Turner’s birthday. She turned 34 on Friday.

Father and daughter attended a volunteer event at Kids Meals Inc. in honor of Ashley Turner’s birthday earlier on Saturday.

“I decided on my birthday this year, I didn’t want to do too much because of COVID,” Ashley Turner told the Chronicle. “So I asked some friends and family to volunteer with me.”

What she didn’t know is that her loved ones, including her mother Cheryl Turner, planned a surprise car parade as well. Instagram videos show a masked and socially distant crowd singing “Happy Birthday” at the nonprofit’s headquarters in Garden Oaks. The vehicles honked their horns as they passed the drive-thru event.

“Only his mother and sister knew he was going to propose, they were the last car,” said Ashley Turner of her fiance, future mother-in-law and sister-in-law. “They opened the trunk with lined up pictures of Jimmy and me. There is a sign that says ‘Marry me’. ”

Jimmie Captain, 42, and Turner met two years ago at Captain’s mom’s retirement party.

“She was HPD and we met during the campaign, I didn’t even know she had a child,” said Ashley Turner. “Two months later, he slipped into my DMs to thank me for coming to the retirement party. It’s been a journey. “

The two started friends before the relationship became romantic a year ago.

The captain presented his future wife with the dream ring, a rose gold design.