Dorchester Times: Dorchester's John Vernon Passes At Age 59

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Dorchester's John Vernon Passes At Age 59

We at the Times are saddened to hear of the loss of one of Dorchester's longtime residents and leaders.

According to a Google alert we received this morning, the Kansas City Star is reporting that "authorities have identified a truck driver who crashed and died after suffering from a medical condition as John I. Vernon of Dorchester, Neb." Vernon served as chief of Dorchester's Volunteer Fire Dept. and had been involved in other civic activities, including the Dorchester-Friend youth football program.

"Vernon, 59, was headed north on Interstate 29 when he suffered an unspecified medical condition about 5:45 p.m. Wednesday near American Avenue Road just north of Platte City, according to a Missouri Highway Patrol crash report.

The 2008 Freightliner he was driving traveled off the right side of the roadway, through a field and struck several trees before it hit an embankment. Vernon was taken to a hospital were he was pronounced dead about 7 p.m. His death was classified as a non-traffic fatality, according to the report."

The staff of the Dorchester Times sends its heart-felt condolences to the family of John Vernon.

12 comments:

AnonymousJanuary 15, 2009 at 12:24 PM
He was a great guy and one of the best fire fighters I ever knew. He had alot to teach as a fireman. He will be miss.
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AnonymousJanuary 15, 2009 at 2:24 PM
Wow, I am still in shock and disbelief... John was always my "favorite" uncle. John was the fun one, the good looking one, the one that treated us; not as kids, but as real people! I've not heard any information about his 'return' to Nebraska, family gatherings or sevices. I'm currently at a friends house in Manhattan, KS... but anxious to hear something and determine when I will return. I am just in shock. John suffered a heart attack while on a firecall several years back, so that being a contributing factor would be possible. He will be missed. The family unit forever changed. Thank God my dad and grandpa (his dad) were there to meet him last night. I will miss him! A lot Kim Vernon
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AnonymousJanuary 15, 2009 at 3:03 PM
What a sad day in Dorchester. My sincere condolences to John's family. He will be missed by many.
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AnonymousJanuary 15, 2009 at 5:24 PM
This is a big loss. The guy cared a lot about the town and its people.
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AnonymousJanuary 15, 2009 at 8:53 PM
I am very saddened to hear about this passing. John was always a great friend to me and so many other people. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and to the members of the Dorchester Volunteer Fire Department on your loss. God is recieving a great person.
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AnonymousJanuary 15, 2009 at 10:27 PM
John Vernon was highly respected by me and just about everyone who knew him. John was about the best fire fighter I ever knew and it was a great honor to be on the same fire department as him. John always cared alot about people, even the people he didn't know. John was always watching out for his fellow fire fighters and making sure that they were as safe as possible while on a call. John was always there to help fellow fire fighters and friend when they had a problem in any way he could, I was very proud to call John Vernon my friend. John will always be remembered and will definately be missed.
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AnonymousJanuary 16, 2009 at 12:00 AM
What a sad day for our town.

John was top notch and a guy you could always count on. We need a million more like him.
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AnonymousJanuary 16, 2009 at 2:51 PM
John was a classmate of mine at Crete High School. I am very shocked and saddened to hear of his passing. May he rest in peace.

Dennis Belohlavy
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AnonymousJanuary 17, 2009 at 6:59 AM
John helped my family in two very important instances in my life. When my father was killed in the fog, he was one of the first people on the scene. I know this because John was the person who saw my mother coming up the road toward the scene of the accident. He went right over to her and made sure that the last picture she remembered of my dad was not the accident.
John was also the ambulance driver when my daughter had to go to the hospital with RSV when she was 2 months old. If he wouldn't have gotten there in a hurry, she wouldn't be here today.
My family owes a lot to John. Dorchester, as a community, has lost a great leader and friend.

Deanna Bird
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AnonymousJanuary 17, 2009 at 9:51 PM
John was a great friend and help when my husband Fred died 1998. I just want to give my condolences to his friends and family. With prayers to all, PJVossler
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AnonymousJanuary 19, 2009 at 2:50 PM
Dorchester Public School will dismiss school tomorrow at 1pm, for John Vernon's funeral. We will run periods 1-5, and we will serve lunch. Buses will run accordingly. We apologize for any inconvenience that this may cause, and we pass our condolences on to Mr. Vernon's family, most especially Deb and Nixon.

Brian Redinger
Superintendent
Dorchester Public Schools
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JerryJanuary 19, 2009 at 7:34 PM
The world has lost a special person. He will be sadly missed by all who knew him. James and I have had the privalage of knowing him for 30 years and it was a honor to call a friend. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family. Godspead John, you will live on in our memories.
James and Kim Schnell
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Dorchester: A Good Little Family Town

Dorchester, Nebraska (est. population 630) is located in northern Saline county. Close in proximity to Interstate 80, Dorchester is only 25 minutes from the state capital of Lincoln (est. population 250,000) and about 55 minutes from Omaha (metro population 725,000).

Dorchester's median resident age is 37 years. In 2005, Dorchester had a median family income of approximately $35,600. The median house value was about $63,000. About 95 percent of Dorchester residents commute to work via Interstate and highways.

The village has a quality public school, which received a $4.1 million expansion and modernization in 2008; it offers a small classrooms and individualized attention. Total enrollment of grades K-12 is around 230-250 students.

Ancestries of the Dorchester area are primarily German (42.4%), Czech (24.9%), Irish (12.5%), English (5.4%), and Dutch (4.9%).

Dorchester Historical Facts

* On July 4, 1871, the railroad reached Dorchester.
* Incorporated in 1881, Dorchester's population grew from 200 to 500 by 1882.
* In 1882, Dorchester had 90 buildings, 35 of which were businesses or public facilities. Brick buildings lined both sides of Washington Avenue for two blocks.
* Dorchester's longest-running newspaper was The Dorchester Star, which was published until the late 1940s.
* By 1889, Dorchester's population is said to have reached 800, while the town housed an opera house, a two-story brick schoolhouse with a bell tower, and four churches.
* By the 1910s, Dorchester had electricity, a water tower and a fire department.
* Dorchester's main arteries, Highways 6 and 33, were graveled in the 1940s.
* Dorchester's first irrigation well was drilled on Chris Weber's farm and rural electrification was finished following WWII.

A Village with History

Dorchester is one of the "alphabet towns" on the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad line built west from Lincoln. The town site was selected for its pleasant location in the northern part of Saline County, about eight miles west of Crete. This situation is an attractive one, being on the level prairie land, midway between the West Blue River and Turkey Creek. The first named stream is three miles north, and the latter about the same distance south from the town. Dorchester was platted in 1870 and incorporated in 1881. The name "Dorchester" came from either for a suburb of Boston by that name or a town in England. No one is sure. Two of the very first settlers were James Seely and Edward McIntyre, who both made Dorchester their permanent home.

Dorchester: In The Beginning

Here is a look at Dorchester around 1890, less than a decade after its official incorporation, as documented by Andreas' History of the State of Nebraska:
* POPULATION: "About 300, and is made up of a substantial and progressive class of citizens, who are moral and industrious. ... The town grew but very little until the year 1879, for the reason that Pleasant Hill, on Turkey Creek, a short distance south, was the county seat and naturally drew a trade for quite a large scope of country."
* BUSINESS: "The business and professional interests of the town are represented by three general merchandise stores, two drug, one grocery, one furniture, two hardware, and two millinery stores, one bank, two restaurants, two hotels, three livery stables, a post office, one newspaper office, two elevators, two lumber yards, two coal yards, two blacksmith shops, two lawyers and four physicians."
* SCHOOL: "The schoolhouse is a good one. The schoolhouse was built in 1872, since which time the public schools have been continually kept up. The present schoolhouse is 24' x 40' in size, two stories high. The school is graded and consists of three departments. The house is found too small, and arrangements will soon be made to increase its size."
* CHURCHES: "There are three substantial churches."
* HOMES: "The residence portion of the village is made up of neat houses of different styles of architecture, but none of them very large."
* NEWSPAPER: "The Dorchester Star, which was established August 21, 1881, by H. C. Bittenbender, who edited it until January 19, 1882, when he sold it to Ryerson & Bullock, the present proprietors. The Star is a bright weekly paper, five-column quarto, in size, and is Republican in politics."