Vernon was born August 23, 1927 in Carnegie, OK to Clay and Ona Searcy. He graduated from Carnegie High School and then served in the U.S. Army. Vernon married the love of his life, Ruth Winter in 1945. He went to work for Superior Oil Co. as a gas plant mechanic and worked at this trade almost 20 years. In 1965, he opened Empire TV, a retail store in Delano. In 1979, Vernon purchased the Coast to Coast hardware store and operated it until 1988 in Shafter. The next 10 years he worked for The Floyds Stores; Vernon always enjoyed serving the public and always liked meeting new people. Vernon loved the mountains and spent lots of time at his cabin in Pine Flats. He enjoyed stream fishing and being in the outdoors, as well as, his family outings or just working in his garden. Vernon was proceeded in death by his parents, and in 2012, his wife Ruth. He is survived by two sons, Randy and wife Loretta, and Russell and wife Sonia; five grandchildren, Vincent, Jillian, Alison, TJ and Paul; and his 5 great grandchildren. Vernon was a member of Valley Baptist Church in Bakersfield. A visitation will be held Wednesday, June 1, at Peters Funeral Home in Shafter from 5:00-8:00pm. A graveside service will be held at Shafter Memorial Park on Friday, June 3, at 11:00am.