Jeffrey Andrew Vernum

October 6, 1954 – December 4, 2022

Jeffrey “Rowan” Andrew Vernum was born on October 6, 1954, to Joan Alice and Andrew Arthur Vernum in Plymouth, Indiana. Jeffrey grew up in Culver in a house built by his father and a family friend “Uncle Bill.” He graduated from Culver Community High School in 1973. He spent time going to college, attending a year at Ball State University for musical studies, then another year at Purdue University for industrial engineering. Jeffrey eventually found a home at GTE, later acquired by Bell Atlantic to become Verizon, establishing a career in the telecom industry. He started as a telephone service technician in 1981 and continued through 2003 when he moved into a position as a telecommunications engineer. He retired from Verizon in 2010 and continued to work as a freelance engineer, traveling as needed.

Jeffrey was a keen reader, enjoying many different genres, sci-fi and fantasy being among his favorites. He enjoyed history, and frequently participated in historical reenactments in earlier years with his family. He also was an avid woodsman and attended the Tom Brown Jr. tracking school, knowledge he enjoyed sharing with his sons when camping. Jeffrey held a lifelong passion for music, and he participated and excelled in band throughout his school years. He was a supporter of his local NPR radio station, particularly its jazz programming and introduced his sons to a few of their educational programs. Jeffrey was also immensely proud of his Scottish heritage. He traveled to Scotland with his father and explored their culture and family roots, as Jeffrey’s grandmother emigrated from Paisley, outside Glasgow. He also enjoyed the theatrical arts as he participated in plays and musicals with family in his youth and early adult life. He enjoyed the culinary arts, becoming quite the “home chef” and cooked meals for his family regularly. He had a truly remarkable work ethic, taking to heart “those whose hands are not idle know that they honor God”. A knowledgeable handyman to his household, for him, idle hands were never an option. Doing so brought him a great sense of accomplishment.

Jeffrey was a good provider and great father to his sons. He supported many of our activities during our youth, as he signed up for taekwondo along with us and he became a cub/boy scout leader to accompany us on the journey. He took great joy in hearing about our accomplishments and successes and was always there to provide support when we needed it most. It was a great source of pride that the three of us had enlisted and served in the armed forces, as he bragged about us whenever he could. He was a devoted grandfather to his granddaughter and was excited to hear about his grandson on the way. While they may never have the opportunity to meet, there will be plenty of stories to share about Jeffrey with him.

 He was a man of great faith having found God in his later years and loved his Heavenly father and savior Jesus. Jeffrey passed in his home on Dec 4. He will be with us always and is dearly missed by his friends and family. Jeffrey was preceded in death by his mother, Joan Alice Vernum, and his father, Andrew Arthur Vernum. He is survived by four sisters, Andrea Mallory, Leslie Vernum, Christine Patillo, Joan Vernum, his wife, Mickey, former spouse and mother of his three sons, Jan Behrendt, three sons Andrew Vernum II, Julius Vernum, Tristan Vernum, one stepson Adam Trisler, and two grandchildren, Rhea Vernum and Andrew Vernum III.

There will be a memorial service at Walley-Mills-Zimmerman funeral home, located at 700 E Jackson Blvd. Elkhart, IN 46516, on Saturday, December 17th, with visitation beginning at 12:00 EST and service to follow at 2:00 EST. Flowers may be sent there.