- Date Of Birth: October 4, 1929
- Date Of Death: November 3, 2022
- State: Illinois
Vernon Wayne Esch, 93, passed away on November 3, 2022, in Mountain Home, AR. Vern was born on October 4, 1929, in a farmhouse north of Washington, IL, to Harley and Mildred Fauber Esch. He attended Washington High School where he was active in the Glee Club and 4-H. Vernon won many ribbons raising and showing Dorset sheep. He also enjoyed playing the electric steel guitar.
Vern married Lora Bell Sever on July 30, 1950, in Peoria, IL. In 1956, they and their two children, at that time, moved to FL. where Vern worked in life insurance sales. Meanwhile, their family grew to six children. In 1968 Vern accepted a new position in the industry, and the family moved to Vermont. In 1969 the family moved back to Vern’s boyhood home in Washington, IL, where he began work at Caterpillar Tractor Company. They attended St.
In 1970 the family became interested in raising and showing Collies under the Verlor’s Collie’s kennel name. Over the following 15 years, they bred, raised, and showed many National Champions throughout the United States. They bred the first smooth International Champion Collie in Brazil. Vern was the Illinois District Director for the Collie Club of America and President of the American Smooth Collie Association. He was an accomplished writer of monthly articles for Collie Review, a National Collie publication for eight years. In late 2015 with the help of two granddaughters, Vern published all eight years of these articles along with some of his short stories in a book titled “The Smooth Scene,” which was sold in North America, Finland, and Australia and which is now archived with the Collie Club of America.
Upon retirement from Caterpillar in 1990, Vern and Lora started another business called Verlor’s Studios. They used a woodworking technique called Intarsia to create mosaic-like 3D pictures. They showed their artwork all over the Midwest and sold nearly 1,000 photos in the United States, England, and Japan.
In 2000 Vern and Lora moved to Mountain Home, AR.
Vern and Lora were married 70 years and were avid world travelers. Vern had a great passion for writing and wrote many humorous and witty short stories. He was a good listener and was very supportive of both family and friends alike. He took great pride in his family and what each had accomplished.
He was preceded in death by his parents, wife Lora, and daughter-in-law Teresa Esch.
