Bethany, MO: Vernon L. Price, 84, Bethany, MO departed this life Saturday, March 23, 2019 at Bethany Care Center, Bethany, MO.
He was born October 28, 1934 in the Ridgeway, Missouri area, the youngest of 4 children to Oral J. and Orena Lucille (Lawrence) Price.
He attended and was a member of Prairie Chapel all his life, from being on the cradle roll to chairman of the board for many years. He accepted the Lord as his Savior early in life. It was to a Sunday school class party that he took Jeanie on their first date. He was a Sunday school teacher starting with teenage boys and then moved to the Adult’s class for several years.
During his childhood, he was raised on different farms. As they moved on the 1st of March, they might meet on the road the people moving out of where they were moving into.
Vernon attended different country schools and has told stories associated with all of them. He especially enjoyed the times he and others would go hunting during class time, against the teacher’s wishes. He attended Bethany High School where he played football, was president of FFA and was on a judging team that placed 1st at state. He graduated in 1952.
He worked during high school with different farmers and in the summers he would go bluegrass stripping with his uncle, Clifford Wiley. He said you better be careful unloading the strippers as snakes were always in them. One summer, he had a very bad case of poison ivy that he got unloading the strippers. He worked for other farmers for 4 years before he got married.
Vernon married his closest neighbor (1 mile down the road from Busy Corners), Norma Jean Fordyce on May 29, 1956. To his union 4 children were born: Bob, Jim, Jerry and Jenny.
He went into partnership farming with Jeanie’s folks and her brothers. A year later, they moved to where they live now. He got into milking cows, slopping hogs and chasing sheep. He milked by hand until he got milking machines that he really appreciated. Later, he traded milk cows for beef cows and enjoyed them a lot more.
Vernon liked farming very much, starting early in the day and staying out late. He was always ready to pick ear corn and run it up an elevator to a corn crib that was made of wire and had no top, so he put one on it. He picked ear corn with a pull type 2-row picker that he and his son, Jerry, put together out of a mounted one. He was picking corn up until the year he moved into the Bethany Care Center.
He never complained about being left with the kids when Jeanie and the other ladies of Prairie Chapel had Holiday Club at night or when Jeanie was gone with the 4-J’s gospel quartet. He like going to the kids and grandkids sports and school events. He liked going to Canada fishing as long as he wasn’t the guide.
Vernon enjoyed all types of hunting – deer, turkey and elk with his son, Bob, and especially raccoon hunting. He liked to go just to listen to the dogs. He enjoyed introducing all his grandkids to the pleasure of raccoon hunting. He also had a knack for finding four, five and more leafed clovers.
He served as president of Harrison County Farmers Mutual Insurance Company. He was a board member of Mission Outreach and served as clerk of Adams Township. He was on a bowling league and served on the last draft board of Harrison County.
Vernon was preceded in death by his parents; sister, Caroll Elaine Prewitt; brothers, Arlo Leroy and Lawrence Eugene Price; brothers-in-law, Jack Collins and Charlie Fordyce and nephews, Randy Price and Ronald Hamilton.
Survivors include his wife of 62 years, Jeanie, of the home; sons, Robert Lyle and wife, Jana, James Roe and wife, Rhonda, Jerry Wayne and wife, Kathy; daughter, Jenny Loree Bowman and husband, Brad; 10 grandchildren, Thomas Price and wife, Rebekah, Jason Price and wife, Robyn, Kristen Oesch and husband, Dan, Brennen Price and wife, Leslie, Elizabeth Landgren and husband, Laren, Greg Bowman and wife, Sydney, Justin Bowman, Jeremiah Price and wife, Kaylee, Dereck Bowman and Jerika Price; great-grandchildren, Brody, Jayce, Gage and Myer Price, Laina and Kasen Landgren, Riley, Macey and Chase Oesch and Mason and Ava Price; 4 sisters-in-law, Irma Collins, Coleen Wilson, Clara Lee Fordyce and Stefanie Fordyce; a brother-in-law, John Fordyce and several nieces, nephews and great-nieces and nephews. Funeral Services will be held at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 26 at Roberson Funeral Home, Bethany, MO. Burial will follow in Fairview Cemetery, Bethany, MO. The family will receive friends from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Monday at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to the Prairie Chapel Cemetery and/or Miriam Cemetery in care of Roberson Funeral Home, P.O. Box 46, Bethany, MO 64424. Online condolences may be left at www.robersonfuneralhome.com.