Longtime Palisadian STEPHEN JOHN VERNON passed away at home at the age of 95. He had been in failing health for the past several years.
Stephen was born in Buffalo, New York, in 1918. Around 1923 or so, his father moved the family to Poland—(Poland had once more become a Sovereign Country)—where he bought a farm, complete with a huge orchard, a small pond where the children could swim and a whole variety of farm animals. It was an idyllic childhood, but young Stephen longed for America, and vowed to return there at his very first opportunity.
When Hitler’s army invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, Stephen was a student in Agricultural College. By springtime 1940, he realized that he had better go. So, on May 10, telling no-one, he quietly left. Travelling on foot, he was captured by the Germans; and when an opportunity arose, he escaped and continued on his journey—on foot, or by pony cart, or sometimes even by train.
Finally arriving in Syria (by train), he and several other young men who were also on the train joined together with a group of French Foreign Legionnaires who were on their way to the battlefront. By the end of June, they had reached North Africa, where they all became part of the British Eighth Army in Tobruk, fighting Rommel.
Volunteering to deliver a message, Stephen successfully completed his mission, but on the way back his motorbike ran over a land mine. There was nothing left of the motorbike, and Stephen was wounded. Upon his release from the hospital, his unit had moved on, and it was not possible for him to catch up with them. They sent him to England, where he became a fighter pilot with the R.A.F. (flying Spitfires).
De-mobilized in November 1946, he returned to Buffalo—as the ”Buffalo Evening News” expressed it—“having left his heart in the British Isles.”
Working two jobs at one time, he had saved enough to fly back to England for his wedding in July 1947, to his beloved wife Audrey. They celebrated their 66th wedding anniversary last July. Stephen enrolled at the New York Institute of Applied Arts and Sciences in Buffalo that Fall. His professors urged him to apply for admission to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
After graduating from MIT in 1955 with a degree in electrical engineering, he accepted a position with Convair in San Diego. He then worked for the Rand Corporation for S.D.C., for The Lincoln Laboratory and for Hughes Aircraft.
Falling in love with the Malibu hills, he purchased land overlooking the Pacific and personally did all of the required work in order to properly prepare it for a home site: drawing maps, doing the surveying, installing the road, bringing water, and more—including the planting and follow-up care of 200 trees.
This “hobby” eventually became Stephen’s full-time occupation and he finally left the field of engineering. He said that he had enjoyed a long, very happy, and most interesting life—“No regrets.”
He was tremendously proud of his three children: Paul, Judith and Ruth, and of his six grandchildren: Stephen and Daniel Vernon (Paul and Denise’s sons); David and his wife, Erin, and Jonathan Carlander (Judith and Richard’s sons); and Christine and Matthew Marsden (Ruth and Dennis’s daughter and son). They were the joy of his life. Generous to a fault, he truly wanted the best for everyone—and he took care of everyone. He loved and always protected his family. He loved his home, and he loved his country.
Stephen’s motto: “Work diligently. When things prove to be difficult, don’t give up—try, try again! Treat others honestly and fairly, and always finish whatever you start.”
He set a wonderful example for all of us to follow, and he will be so greatly missed.
Services will be held on November 12 at 10 a.m. at Corpus Christi Church, 880 Toyopa Drive, Pacific Palisades.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 600 Memorial Drive W98-100, Cambridge, MA 02139–marked “UNRESTRICTED FUND.”
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