LaVon Vernon Obituary (1909

LaVon Allen Vernon, age 103, passed away at his home on June 16, 2012. He was born May 5, 1909, in Maeser, Utah, to William Preston and Elnora Allen Vernon. He was the eighth of ten children and the last surviving one. His passing brings to an end his generation. He spent his early years growing up on a large family farm in Maeser, helping with the crops and farm animals. He was part of a large family and shared the work that was required on the farm. He attended the Maeser District (Elementary) School through the eighth grade and then Uintah High School in Vernal, graduating in 1928. He rode his horse, Dolly, to high school. He attended BYU for one year and Utah State Agricultural College for one year. He finally chose business as a career and graduated from Henager's Business School in 1931. While at Henager's, he met his future wife, Mildred Miller. They were married March 31, 1931, and made their home in San Francisco, where their first child was born. They were later sealed in the Manti Temple. Not finding the big city to their liking, they returned to Utah and built a home in Orem on five acres given to them by LaVon's father. LaVon spent the remainder of his life in central Utah. Early in his married life, he worked in the coal mines in Carbon County. He later worked at a variety of jobs: he managed Keeley's Cafe for a number of years, worked for Club Radar, owned and operated a cafe in Vernal, worked in the buildings department at BYU, and managed several fast food restaurants. In his spare time he built houses and apartment buildings. Regardless of what he was doing to earn a living, he always stayed close to the land, always farming. He either owned small farms or rented land on which to grow crops. His favorite crop was sweet corn, which he continued to grow well into his 90's. His corn was a favorite in grocery stores in the Provo area for many years. LaVon served as an Ordinance Worker in the Provo Temple from Jan 23, 1999 to March of 2003 when he was in his 90's. It was a calling that gave him a sense of fulfillment. He and Mildred were the parents of ten children. Mildred passed away in 1965 after a battle with cancer. LaVon married a second time in 1966 to Donna Buxton. After seven years of marriage, Donna passed away, also from cancer. LaVon married a third time in 1973 To Blanche Fuller. They bought a home in Provo where they lived until Blanche's death in 1987. LaVon married a fourth time in December 1988 to Mary L. Howard. They continued to live in Provo until LaVon's passing. LaVon is survived by his wife, Mary, and six children; Connie (Westerwelle), Marjorie (Jansen), Robert, Philip, Karen (Miller), and Douglas. He was preceded in death by four children; Dan, Rick, Victoria, and Teri. He is also survived by many grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren. Mary has a large family that also survives LaVon. LaVon's funeral will be held at 11:00 a.m., Friday, June 22, 2012 at the Berg Mortuary, 185 East Center St., in Provo. Friends may call at the mortuary on Thursday evening from 6 until 8 and on Friday morning from 9:30 until 10:45. Interment, Provo City Cemetery. Condolences may be sent through his obituary at www.bergmortuary.com.