Vernon Dale Kegley

Vernon D. Kegley, 93, died Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2014, at the Washington Odd Fellows.

Vern was born April 22, 1921, to Ottie and Auda Osborn Kegley in Melvin, Ill. As a child and young adult he lived in and around that area, graduating from Paxton Community High School in 1939.

On Jan. 2, 1942, Vern joined the U.S. Army Air Corps and six weeks later he was on a troop ship headed overseas for duty as a member of the newly activated 99th Air Base Group. He first landed at Trinidad, BWI, where his group participated in the opening of Waller Field and Edinburg Air Base from which he flew as an observer on sub patrol in the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea.

In the fall of 1943 Vern returned to the United States to attend aviation cadet training; he graduated in 1944 as a second lieutenant navigator. He joined a B-24 crew and completed crew training at the Walla Walla Air Base. As World War II ended he and his crew were on orders for Guam; luckily the orders were canceled and the crew separated from the service.

He remained active in the Air Force Reserves and was recalled during the Korean War as a navigator on a B-29 crew. He was a member of the 307th Bomb Group stationed in Okinawa. From there he flew 32 bombing missions to North Korea, returning home in 1953. He continued his service in the Air Force Reserves and retired as a lieutenant colonel.

Vern began working at the Baker Boyer Bank in 1945 as a messenger while attending Whitman College part time. He graduated with a degree in economics in 1950. He retired as the bank’s president in 1986 but continued serving on its board and various committees for several years.

He met Marylou Coleman at Baker Boyer Bank while working as a teller. On June 20, 1948, they married at the First Presbyterian Church, where they had both been active before their marriage. They soon enjoyed a daughter, Jovonna, in 1951, and two sons, Dale and David, after Vern’s return from the Korean War.

He was a longtime member of the Exchange Club of Walla Walla, serving as its secretary-treasurer, president and district governor. He was also a longtime supporter of the Goodwill Industries, Chamber of Commerce, American Red Cross, United Way, YMCA and served on the YMCA Endowment Committee. Additionally, Vern was a member of the Blue Mountain Community Foundation Board.

Vern was named Exchangite of the year in 1971 and the Northwest Exchangite of the year in 1975, Washington State Elks’ Citizen of the Year in 1990, and awarded the Chamber of Commerce Award of Merit, also in 1990. He served on the Whitman College Building and Grounds Committee and was honored in 2002 with the Gordon Scribner Award for Distinguished Service to the college. He was a longtime blood donor to the American Red Cross, proudly contributing over 180 pints of whole blood in his lifetime.

Vern is survived by his daughter, Jovonna, of Bellefonte, Pa.; his sons, Dale Kegley of Seattle and David (Luci) Kegley of Lacey, Wash.; five grandchildren, Logan, Clark and Meredith Kegley of Seattle and Alex and Sam Kegley of Lacey; two sisters, Madaline (Harry) Burns of Palatka, Fla., and Gwendollyn Lopinski of Chicago; and one brother-in-law, Robert (Shirley) Coleman of Lewiston, Idaho. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Marylou; seven sisters; and two brothers.

A memorial service will be held on Friday, Nov. 21, 2014, at 4 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church, First Avenue and Birch Street. Pastor Albert Gillin will officiate. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Blue Mountain Community Foundation for the benefit of the YMCA and the First Presbyterian Church of Walla Walla.