He was 93 and lived an adventurous, full life. Vernon was a 54-year resident of Oroville, Calif. at the time of his passing. He died of complications arising from old age. Named after his mother's favorite writer/philosopher Thomas Carlyle, Vernon was a rambunctious child, interested in all things mechanical. As a child, he visited his mother's relatives in Ohio and Indiana but lived in Michigan until he joined the army. During WWII, Vernon was in the army stationed in California, where he met his beautiful wife, Mildred Schmidt, at a USO dance, whom he married a few weeks later in Reno. Later, Vernon was transferred to Biloxi, Mississippi, Keesler Field, where he trained and became a B-29 Superfortress aircraft and engine technician. After the military, Vernon worked for the Bureau of Reclamation at Anderson Ranch Dam in Idaho, in Tracy, California, and at the Eklutna Power Project in Alaska. In 1982, he retired after 30+ years as a hydroelectric powerhouse operator with Oroville-Wyandotte Irrigation District (OWID), now called SFWPA, on the South Fork Feather River Project, involving powerhouses in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and foothills. He was a member of IBEW Local 1245. While raising his family, one of Vernon's favorite vacation agendas was to pack up the family car and go camping Lake Tahoe, Lassen National Park, the Feather River Canyon, Fort Bragg, the Oregon coast, and the eastern Sierra. After one family hike up Lassen Peak, he got a bug to climb the "14er" peaks of California, and he summited Mt. Shasta, Mt. Langley, White Mtn. Peak, and Mt. Whitney. In his spare time, Vernon repaired the family car, and he especially enjoyed long road trips. When he and Mildred lived in Alaska, there was one particular road trip planned to surprise Vernon's parents, a December drive down the Al-Can Highway through Canada to Michigan in a Plymouth station wagon, a distance of over 3800 miles, with four children, one baby, and one on the way (the writer of this obituary), which the family still recalls with amazement especially when he and his son Jeff had to change a flat tire at 58 degrees below zero. Vernon got frost-nipped eyelids from that. There were multiple trips to Michigan from the West Coast after Vernon and Mildred moved from Alaska. Vernon will be remembered for his enjoyment of family events, his passion for spinning yarns, and his interest in the outdoors. He and Mildred shared the same dream of having a large family, and the pioneering spirit that led them to Alaska. Preceded in death by his wife Mildred, his five siblings, and his parents, John C. and Frances M. (Barnhart) Gnass, Vernon is survived by his 7 children; 10 grandchildren; and 15 great-grandchildren.