- Date Of Birth: December 13, 1914
- Date Of Death: January 25, 2011
- State: New Mexico
VERNIE DINWIDDIE, 96, of Pinos Altos, entered into eternal rest on Tuesday, January 25, 2011. Vernie May Brown was born to David and Alice Brown near Conrad, Missouri on December 13, 1914. She grew up on a small farm, often laboring in the cotton fields alongside her parents and eight siblings. Among her childhood experiences was surviving the great Mississippi River flood of 1927.
When her mother passed away at a young age, Vernie became the main caretaker for her younger brothers and sisters, some of whom were still infants.
Following her marriage to Paul Pikey, Vernie gave birth to four children, Alfred, Frances, Nadine and Mary. The family relocated to northeastern Ohio just prior to World War II. After a divorce, Vernie worked for the Strong Manufacturing Company in order to support her four children as a single mother.
After a long distance romance, she and Ralph A. Dinwiddie of Cliff, New Mexico married on August 10, 1950. Following the birth of their son Doug, the couple relocated to Grant County permanently in 1954, eventually settling in Pinos Altos. Vernie lived the last 53 years of her life in the same house. She will be remembered for her love of gardening, her great cooking, her beautiful handmade quilts, her sense of humor, and most of all her love of family.
Survivors include her daughter Nadine Mishler and husband Carlisle of Salem, Ohio; daughter Mary Humphrey and husband Richard of Pinos Altos, son Douglas Dinwiddie and wife Becky of Fort Collins, Colorado, step daughter Shirley Scott and husband Palmer of Florence, Montana, sister Dell Fox of Salem, Ohio, 18 grandchildren, and numerous great and great-great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband Ralph Dinwiddie, her son Alfred Pikey, and her daughter Frances Madrid.
