Gary Wayne Vernon

Gary Wayne Vernon, 38, born September 14, 1983, went to be with the Lord on February 16, 2022 in Dallas, Texas, after a courageous and hard battle with Covid. Gary was adopted by his parents, Roger and Kathleen Vernon, when he was 3 years old. Gary grew up in Cedar Hill, Texas, and graduated from Cedar Hill High School in 2002. As a child, Gary was fun-loving, wild and full of personality. Gary was very handsome and grew in stature to 6’5”. He did life BIG. His older sister, Jeana, found it a full-time job keeping Gary out of trouble and was always protecting him when he got in over his head. Gary always included his little brother, Ryan, in his adventures, which included midnight refrigerator raids for ice cream. Heather lived with our family during his young years and has fond memories of his mischievous antics and loving nature. Gary was very creative and artistic even as a child. During his youth, he played numerous sports and always enjoyed a good pick-up basketball game with his Dad or his friends. He enjoyed watching silly movies with his mom and fishing with his Dad. He learned a lot about construction by spending lots of time with his Dad at different job sites. He brought so much personality and life to our family. We loved him dearly and will miss his phone calls and his visits - he always brought a gift of something - Kolache, cheesecake, specialty olive oils, and spices. Gary and his mom loved finding new taco places to eat at and their favorite food was salmon. Gary loved to cook and loved sharing his culinary talents and recipes. Gary grew up in a Christian home and attended Church almost every Sunday and Wednesday night. He was baptized on 08-02-92 at First Baptist Cedar Hill. He was a member of the Windsor Park Baptist Church youth group. He attended several youth camps and has remained friends with many of the youth and the leadership there. Gary also has very close relationships with his high school friends. Gary never met a stranger. One of his favorite things to do was to just stop by and “shoot the breeze” with people. He was known to drop everything to help a friend. One time he even drove 3 hours to help someone move he didn’t even know just because he heard of the need. He made himself available to work on repairing cars for friends. He made everyone feel special and brought them close like family. And if you ever experienced a Gary hug, you were hugged BIG. After his high school graduation, Gary enlisted in the U.S. Navy on 08-19-2002. Culinary Specialist Third Class Petty Officer Gary Vernon proudly served with the VAQ-138 Yellowjackets stationed at Naval Air Station, Whidbey Island, Washington. Gary was deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom on the USS Carl Vinson. Gary was honorably discharged from the Navy on September 18, 2006. Gary attended the University of Texas at Arlington and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art on December 12, 2013. Gary was a talented artist, specializing in graphic art design. He was very creative and it was evident in his pieces of art. Gary Vernon was preceded in death by his Dad, Roger Vernon. He is survived by his loving Mom, Kathleen Vernon; Sister, Jeana and her husband, Micah, and niece and nephew, Lilah and Lawson; Brother, Ryan; and foster sister, Heather. Gary also had a BIG family which includes 18 aunts and uncles and 23 cousins. As an adult, Gary sought out his birth mother and was able to find her on Facebook. Through meeting his birth mother, Christa Stephens (deceased), he was able to connect with his biological father Randy Wade. He also found brothers and sisters from his birth family, as well as a grandmother: Margaret Conwell, Aunt-Susan Johnson, Carren Thomson, Johnathon Lane, Brianna Bomnskie. Pallbearers: Ryan Vernon, Micah Eckeberger, Charles Crenshaw, David Maddox, Keith Vernon, David Vernon, Phillip Vernon, and John Vernon. The family will receive family and friends for a visitation in the Chapel of West-Hurtt Funeral Home, 217 South Hampton Road, DeSoto, Texas 75115 from 6:00-8:00 pm on March 9, 2022. Service will be held at 10:00 am on March 10, 2022 at Windsor Park Baptist Church, 750 W. Pleasant Run, DeSoto,Texas 75115. Interment with Honors at DFW National Cemetery, 2000 Mountain Creek Parkway, Dallas, Texas, 75211. Due to the limited space, only family and close friends will be able attend the interment. Because Gary was brought to our family through foster care, the family requests those who wish to express sympathy to consider making a donation to Embrace Waiting Children, Inc. Embrace helps children in the foster care system find the love and stability of a forever family. The Embrace Office is located on the historic square of McKinney, Texas. Embrace works to connect willing hands with opportunities to serve children in foster, adoptive and kinship care. You can find out more information about this organization at www.embracetexas.org. A memorial has been set up Gary Vernon at https://embracetexas.org/?form=GARY_VERNON_MEMORIAL