Vernon Kerner

Funeral services for Vernon Kerner were held on Friday, June 18, 2021 at 10:30 a.m. at the St. John Lutheran Church in Gregory, SD, with Pastors Marcus Ring and Bill Serr officiating.

Music was provided by Geoff Smith, soloist, accompanied by Melanie Hannahs, organist. Linda Svoboda and Maria Talsma were in charge of registration and flower attendants were Joann Serr, Kay Weller and Kimberly Veskrna.

Casket bearers were Tyler Kerner, Riley Kerner, Levi Cushing, Hunter Cushing, Christopher Cernetisch, Jason Cernetisch, Chad Travnicek and Troy Travnicek. Honorary casket bearers were the coffee group and all of Vernon’s friends and neighbors.

Burial with military honors was in the IOOF Cemetery in Gregory, SD. Military honors were conferred by the Dallas American Legion, the Burke Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Navy Honors Team. Kotrba-Smith Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.

Vernon was born March 19, 1949, to Oscar and Olena Kerner in Burke, South Dakota. He attended country school at Buffalo Creek and graduated from Gregory High School in 1967. He was confirmed in the Lutheran faith at the Grace Lutheran Church in Burke, SD. He entered the US Navy in May 1969 as a dental technician and did one tour in Vietnam. In the middle of Vernon’s Navy career, he met his partner of 47 years, Charlotte DeVos. Vernon was honorably discharged from the Navy in 1973 and married Charlotte in Sheffield, Illinois on February 15, 1974. In 1976 the couple moved back to Gregory, SD to spend their married years.

Vernon worked the majority of his life at Country Pride until he retired in 2015. Even in retirement Vernon didn’t slow down and never seemed to realize what retirement was. He stayed busy helping local farmers and ranchers and most recently he enjoyed helping out at North Forty Ag.

Vernon and Charlotte were blessed with two children - Robin (1979) and Kelly (1984). Robin joined the Army through ROTC and Kelly went into ranching. The military and ranching lifestyle were two of Vernon’s passions. He loved going to visit Robin at her various duty stations and most recently attended Robin’s promotion to Lieutenant Colonel in May. He enjoyed going up to Kelly’s place to help out with the cattle and did this often. Both Robin and Kelly went on to have children and for Vernon, his grandchildren were a great source of pride. His four grandsons kept him active and he enjoyed taking them fishing and hunting.

Vernon was an active member in the St. John Lutheran Church. In addition to his family, Vernon loved spending time with friends during morning coffee. He was always on the go and after he retired, he enjoyed buying some toys like his RV, Kawasaki side-by-side, and his new F150. One of his favorite companions was his dog Duke and it was common to see Vernon and Duke in the side-by-side cruising around town.

Vernon Van Kerner of Gregory, SD, passed away unexpectedly on Saturday, June 12, 2021, at the age of 72 years.

He was preceded in death by two brothers, Joseph and James Kerner; his parents; his nephew Joshua Shaw; his niece Cheyenne Cernetisch; his brothers-in-law Earl Cernetisch, Terry DeVos, David Gillespie, and his sisters-in-law Julie DeVos and Patsy Kerner.

He is survived by his wife Charlotte; their two children Robin Cushing (Richard), Kelly Kerner (Kim); his grandsons Tyler Kerner, Riley Kerner, Levi Cushing, and Hunter Cushing; his five brothers and sisters: Don (Edith) Kerner, Eugene (Joan) Kerner, Verna Cernetisch (his twin sister), Curtis (Kari) Kerner, Janice (Gary) Travnicek; and his nieces, nephews, cousins, sisters- and brothers-in-law, as well as many longtime friends.