Obituary Notice — Whitty John Vernon

Whitty John Vernon 1916 - 2014
Whitty John Vernon
1916 – 2014

Mr. Whitty John (Whit) Vernon passed away in Salmon Arm, BC, on November 26, 2014, at the age of 98 years.

Whit was born to parents Silas and Jennie Vernon in Bath, New York on March 4, 1916.

At the age of one year, Whit’s family returned to the Didsbury, Alberta area to homestead. The early years were tough for this young lad; as Silas felt if a person knew how to work he didn’t need schooling, so Whit was required to stay at home and help around the farm. Times were tough and any work done by Whit and his sisters outside the home, was expected to assist with the family’s needs. A sad time for the family was the illness and death of Whit’s mother to cancer in the spring of 1927. Life changed for everyone after that and after several years of unhappiness Whit moved out on his own. In 1939, Whit met Mary Ballard at a local dance and that is where the romance started. Whit and Mary were married on March 5, 1942 in Sundre, Alberta. Whit worked various jobs in the area until his move to Lumby in the spring of 1944. He moved on to Kelowna for a while and then when he landed a job with the CPR in 1946 they moved to Revelstoke. They stayed until 1949 and then bought a house in Kamloops where they stayed until their return to Revelstoke in September 1956. Whit built a two stall garage and carport onto their house in 1972 where he worked on old vehicles in his spare time. He retired from CPR in October 1976 with just over 30 years’ service as a trainman and conductor. He then worked another 12-15 years in the garage full time and really enjoyed it. Whit enjoyed his retirement years involved with the Revelstoke Senior’s Center on the building committee and with carpet bowling. In his own words Whit stated “Mary always looked after me and took good care of me as she was the most wonderful woman in the world.”

Whit was predeceased by his grandson, Cory in 2004 and by his beloved wife, Mary in 2005. He is survived by two sons: Glenn (Brenda) and Gary (Myra); granddaughters: Glenda (Kelvin), Rhonda (Blaine) and Amy; great grandchildren: Joshua, Jessica and Kobe.

The family would like to thank all of the doctors and nurses in Bastion Place for the loving and considerate care.

A family gathering will be held in the spring of 2015.

Messages of condolence may be sent to the family by visiting Whit’s obituary notice at www.brandonbowersfuneralhome.com