Date of death: 12/6/2010
Saint Meinrad Class: O 1955
The Rev. Donald B. Vernon, 81, formerly of Fowler, died at 11:03 a.m. Monday, Dec. 6, 2010, at St. Anthony Healthcare in Lafayette.He was born March 23, 1929, in Chicago, Ill., and was the son of the late Bernard and Elizabeth Birch Vernon. He attended St. Philip High School and Our Lady of the Lake Seminary in Wawasee.He was accepted as a seminarian and on May 3, 1955, he was ordained at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Lafayette.In 1955, he was an assistant pastor at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in West Lafayette, served from 1956 to 1958 at St. Joseph Parish in Logansport, then was a teacher and principal for 21 years at Central Catholic High School. He was appointed pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Fowler and also assumed pastoral responsibility for St. Mary Parish, Dunnington, in 1992. In 2000, he was named chaplain at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Lafayette.There are no immediate survivors.Part of his enjoyment was the children of Sacred Heart School. His first love was God. His second love was the Chicago Cubs.In lieu of flowers, memorials to Lafayette Clergy Relief Association.Published in the Lafayette Journal-Courier on December 8, 2010.