Vernon Ray Johnson

Vernon R. Johnson, 71, longtime Moses Lake resident, passed away Wednesday, November 18, 2009 at Samaritan Hospital in Moses Lake after his long and very courageous fight with cancer. In keeping with his wishes, there will be no services. Arrangements are in care of Kayser’s Chapel & Crematory, Moses Lake. You may sign the guestbook or leave a note for the family at www.kayserschapel.com. Vern was born June 14, 1938 to Johnny Garrison Johnson and Esther May (Sheffield) in Paris, Arkansas. His father passed away when he was a very young child. His mother later married Earl Harrison. Vern was raised in Arkansas and later joined the Air Force. When he was stationed at Larson Air Force Base in Moses Lake, he met the love of his life, Charlotte “Charli” Wallace. They were married on August 30, 1958 in Moses Lake. He was then reassigned to Kingsley Field Air Force Base in Klamath Falls, Oregon where their first two children, Randy and Wendy were born. Upon his discharge from the Air Force, they returned to Moses Lake where their last two children, Johnny and Darla were born. They raised their family in Moses Lake and lived the rest of their lives here. They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 2008. Vern was a loving husband, father and grandfather. He was devoted to his family and always put us first. He made sure we never wanted for anything. He was always trying to better himself, and over the years had worked at Skagg’s Automotive, Ross Automotive, Coca-Cola (Randy loved it when he would take him on his route with him), Faber Industrial Supply and at Evergreen Implement until his retirement. He loved woodworking and building things. If you needed a tool you didn’t have, you knew you could borrow it from Dad. There was a real good chance that he had what you needed—and an even better chance that he had three of them. He and Mom loved their trips to the river to collect driftwood which they used to landscape their huge back yard. He loved playing country music and writing songs. Over the years he was a member of several local country-western bands. He recently thrilled his grandchildren Audrey and Cameron by giving them each one of his many guitars. He is survived by his son Randy and his wife Tammy, his daughter Wendy Erickson and granddaughter Audrey, his daughter Darla Hubbard and grandson Cameron, his grandchildren Ryan and Jordan Hubbard and Stephanie Duvall, his brothers Raymond Harrison and wife Joan, Bill Harrison and wife Connie, Mike Harrison and wife Sheila, and his sister Brenda Sewell and husband Bucky. He was preceded in death by his parents, his son Johnny in 1993 and by his beloved wife Charlotte on July 14th of this year, which took a bigger toll on him than the cancer ever could have. Dad, we are all so very, very proud of you. With all you have endured the last few years, you never complained or felt sorry for yourself. You even apologized for what you were putting US through. Amazing. You stayed proud, strong and determined until the very end. We will all miss you more than you know, but we are so happy for you. Your pain is over, and you are back where you were always meant to be, at Mom’s side. It looks like her birthday present was a day late this year. Tell her “Hi” and give her a kiss from us.

Vernon Ray Johnson

June 14, 1938 - November 18, 2009