Mildred Vernon
Mildred Vernon, 92, of Bismarck, died April 28, 2015, at Missouri Slope Lutheran Care Center, Bismarck.
Mildred Viola (Skari) Vernon was born to Albert and Laura Skari on March 23, 1923, on the family homestead in Cherry Township in McKenzie County near Watford City, North Dakota. In 1926, the family moved to the Barney Iverson farm northwest of Arnegard, North Dakota. She started school in Arnegard in September of 1929 and rode on the bus with her other brothers and sisters.
She was baptized in the Christian faith in April 1923, and took the commitment to her Christian faith on July 11, 1937. This always meant so much to her. Mildred attended the Timber Creek Lutheran Church with her parents and other family members. Her mother, Laura, was the organist. In March of 1934, the family moved to the Larsen farm in Farland Township and she finished grade school at Farland School in 1937.
In September 1938, she started attending high school in Arnegard and graduated in 1941 with honors.She entered Trinity Hospital School of Nursing in 1942 and graduated in 1945. She was employed at Good Samaritan Hospital in Williston, North Dakota in May 1945, and entered the Army Nurse Corp in June 1945. In June 1945, she was in basic training at Camp Carson in Colorado and commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant. She worked at Fitzsimmons Army Medical Hospital in Denver, Colorado and Fort Warren in Cheyenne, Wyo., in July 1945.
On March 7, 1946, she was united in marriage to Norman H. Vernon at the Fitzsimmons Hospital chapel in Denver, Colorado. Her separation from the army was at Fort Sheridan, Illinois. They moved to Ohio and lived at rural Berlin, Ohio from 1945-1950; rural Millersburg, Ohio from 1950-1952; and rural Dunkirk, Ohio in 1952. Her first son and daughter, Dennis and Dorothy, were born in November 1946 and March 1949, respectively.
They moved back to Williston, North Dakota in October 1952. They then moved to Grand Forks, North Dakota in 1957, where her daughter, Julie, was born in December 1958. Their final move was to Bismarck in May 1959 and Mildred lived at 1012 N. 13th Street until April 2000. Her sons, Kent and Mark, were born in Bismarck in February 1960 and October 1965, respectively.
She worked as a registered nurse for 20 years at Missouri Slope Lutheran Care Center, which was “a highlight of my life… caring for the elderly.” She was a proud member of the District 6 and State Nursing Associations.
Mildred was a long-time member of Lord of Life Lutheran Church and considered it a “highlight of her life” that she “taught many Sunday school classes, teaching many children, with others, about the Christian faith.”
Mildred was most proud of her grandchildren, Ginger, Owen, Chad, Chris, Emily, Trent, Annika and Brandt and her great-grandchildren, Patrick, Alicia, Micah, Gabriel and Annalie.
She is survived by her children, Dennis (LaVerne) Vernon, Dorothy (Monty) Longmuir, and Julie (Jefferie) Hoffman of Bismarck: Kent Vernon and Tammie Vernon of Hazen, ND: and Mark Vernon of West Fargo, ND; her grandchildren, Ginger (Lance) Anderson of Bismarck, Owen Vernon of Bismarck, Chad (Tanja) Nitschke of Dublin, Ireland, Emily Hoffman of Chicago, Illinois, Trent Hoffman of Bismarck, Annika (Logan) Caldwell of Jamestown, ND, Brandt Vernon of Norman, OK, and great-grandchildren, Patrick Longmuir of Moorhead, MN, Alicia Rich of Bismarck, Micah and Gabriel Rich of New Bloomsfield, MO, and Annalie Caldwell of Jamestown, ND; her sisters, Juliet Lundquist of Gresham, OR, Selma Engen of Mandan, ND, Verna Iverson of Williston, ND, and brother Vernon (Cynthia) Skari of Denver, CO; as well as numerous nieces and nephews.
Mildred was preceded in death by her parents, Albert and Laura Skari; her brothers, Iner and George Skari; her sisters, Esther Kundert, Grace Johnson and Margaret Mai; and her grandchildren, Tiffany Longmuir and Chris Vernon.
Services were held at 11 a.m. Monday, May 4, 2015, at Lord of Life Lutheran Church, Bismarck, with Rev. Rebecca Aardahl officiating. Burial will be held at 2 p.m. Monday, at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery, Mandan.
Visitation was held from 4 - 6 p.m. Sunday, May 3, at Eastgate Funeral Service, Bismarck. Visitation continued for one hour prior to the service at the church
Go to www.eastgatefuneral.com to share memories of Mildred and sign the online guestbook.