Vernon Jay Carlson was born April 25, 1924, in Manti, Utah. He came into a family with a rich Latter-day Saint heritage and a strong work ethic from both his father's and his mother's side. While his father, Edward, and his mother, Bertha, were both born in Manti, all four of his grandparents migrated from Europe to gather with the Saints in Zion.
Regular chores were a necessary part of growing up in the Edward and Bertha Carlson family, especially because Edward's job as a sheepherder took him away from the family for long stretches of time. Vernon's childhood chores included laundry, caring for livestock (chickens and cows), weeding and harvesting the garden, cleaning soot off walls, and woodcutting. One job that Vernon did not enjoy at first, but knew the value of, was cutting wood for the winter fuel pile. He found some chores more enjoyable than others. As he later said, "digging potatoes and carrots day after day, in the Fall, got very tiresome;" whereas, he "learned to enjoy splitting the logs and took pride in seeing the woodshed filled with neatly-piled wood, knowing we would be able to keep warm and [that his] mother would have ample to bake bread." When his father became the Sexton of the Manti Cemetery in Vernon's teenage years, he often rode his bike there to visit his father and assisted him in his work there.
No less a part of work to Vernon's childhood was time to have fun and play. He engaged in many recreational activities, especially marbles & carom. He could play a mean game of carom, even into his nineties.
Though Vernon's youth was in the heart of The Great Depression, he never felt that he lacked for anything. His family always had adequate food to eat, clothes to wear, and a nice home to live in. Vernon simply said: "We didn't know there was a depression. To us, everyone was always the same as everyone else."
One particularly special event from Vernon's childhood, that left a lasting memory, was his baptism in the Manti Temple. It was very exciting to go where his mother and father frequently went. His baptism was followed by a tour of the building, causing Vernon to marvel at what the early pioneers were able to build with their limited resources.
Vernon, and several friends, enlisted in the U.S. Army and were called into active duty for WWII in May of 1943. The Army found that Vernon made an excellent mechanic, and he was trained in the maintenance and repair of B-29 bombers. He deployed to the island of Tinian, for one year, arriving on December 24, 1944, and returning to San Francisco on December 24, 1945. The island had been made into an air base from which B-29 bombers regularly made raids to Japan. He felt great joy when Japan surrendered, knowing that he could finally go home.
Vernon took advantage of the GI Bill to get a degree in accounting from BYU in Provo, Utah. Though intelligent and hard-working, he did not enjoy his classes and could not see himself working a desk job – he knew he needed physical labor as part of his daily work. In fact, the path of his future career was being laid at this time, as he assisted his brothers in operating Jolley Poultry. After classes, most days and on weekends, he would drive trucks for the poultry business, transporting either live or freshly-slaughtered chickens. "Sometimes," he said, "they even paid me."
Following college graduation, Vernon met Betty Hurst. Betty had been hired as the PE teacher at Manti High School a short time before this. After their first date, Vernon knew that Betty was the girl he wanted to take out. Vernon won Betty's heart, with Betty declaring, "Vernon had all the qualities I was looking for in a husband. He had a testimony of the Gospel. He was fun to be with and he had a good sense of humor; he was good to his parents, he was ambitious, he was neat and clean, and he was a hard worker. And last, but not least, he loved me in spite of all my faults."
By this time, Vernon and his brothers had sold out their interest in Jolley Poultry and began work, raising turkeys. They started raising turkeys in Manti, with the turkeys being processed in Nephi, where they also began to raise turkeys. After a few years, it became evident that Carlson Brothers wanted more control over the business and their future. This led to acquiring a majority share in the Utah Poultry Turkey Processing facility in Richfield. Vernon and Betty moved to Richfield, where they started their family and he worked in the Richfield Plant.
The Carlsons became known as honest and hardworking, and as a result, the local farmers were pleased to raise more turkeys knowing they could sell them to the Carlsons for processing in their Richfield Plant. This lasted for several years until the Carlson brothers shifted operations to Spanish Fork, prompting Vernon and Betty to move there in 1954.
During this time, Vernon and Betty had been actively growing their family, starting with Kathy in 1951, then Linda in 1953, Edward in 1954, and David in 1955. They continued to grow their family in Spanish Fork, adding Steven in 1958, Glen in 1959, Richard in 1962, and Michael in 1965. Vernon and Betty taught their children to be hard workers. For most of them, work inside and outside the home began at a very early age and continued until the day they left the house. Vernon led by example, and his children knew that their dad was never asking more from them than he was giving himself. His boys always found it difficult to keep pace with him when it came time to move things with a shovel. Vernon liked to make work as fun as possible. One of the jokes he liked to play on his sons was to sample turkey feed additives and give the impression of enjoying the experience. When asked if something tasted good, he would often say, "It's good if you like it." Following their dad's example, the kids would sample the same thing and find that it was quite disgusting. Vernon would then grin and say, "I didn't like it either."
One of the most significant phases of Vernon's life was his time as Bishop of the Spanish Fork 8th Ward. Despite having served in a branch presidency and as a counselor in the bishopric, receiving this call was a very humbling experience. When the Stake President told Vernon in a firm voice that the Lord wanted him to be the next Bishop of the Spanish Fork 8th Ward, Vernon put his face into his hands and told President Toronto "I can't do it." Betty, who was present at this meeting, put her hands on his knees and expressed her confidence in him and his ability to serve as the Lord had directed. The Stake President provided a similar assurance and Vernon accepted the call. Once again, Vernon was grateful for the support of his wife in a very demanding church calling, a calling Betty said she always knew that Vernon would someday have.
As a Bishop, Vernon made a point of visiting every family, in the ward, at their home at least once a year. With roughly two hundred families in the ward and 52 weeks in a year, this meant that four families would need to be visited every week, thus the regular visits on Wednesday and Thursday evenings, in addition to Mutual on Tuesday evenings, kept him very in tune with the ward members. He loved sending missionaries out from the ward and at one point in his time as Bishop, there were twenty-seven missionaries serving from the 8th Ward.
Vernon was always very generous and willing to help others. Vernon's children learned of this not because their father told them, but because many he helped wanted them to know what kind of man their father was.
Vernon loved to memorize poems and recite them to his children to teach them and provide correction. He often recited a poem that taught the value of love, hard work, and perseverance.
Retiring allowed Vernon and Betty to fulfill one of their lifelong dreams: to serve as missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Their call came to labor in the Sydney, Australia Mission, where they served with great enthusiasm. They had been home for only two years, when their bishop told them he felt impressed to invite them to serve another mission. They had a marvelous mission in Dayton, Tennessee, where they were able to help a number of people, including an entire family that got onto the covenant path of the Gospel.
When asked for a message to give to his posterity, Vernon said the following:
"The best thing I can leave [my posterity] is my testimony of the gospel. The gospel is true. Joseph Smith was a prophet and restored the true church to the earth. He saw Jesus and the Father in the Sacred Grove he restored the gospel to the earth. I want to give you my testimony that he did.
"I want to tell you that the church is true, and you need to live the words of the current living prophet. We have a living prophet on the earth today and you should follow his counsel. We're very lucky to live today where we have the Gospel restored, we have a chance to study the Scriptures and have the priesthood in our lives. I want each of my children and grandchildren to live the gospel and to keep the commandments and most especially to follow the words of the prophets.
"My testimony of the gospel is the best thing that I can leave with you. You'll have trials and hardships, but if you follow the gospel and the Commandments of God everything will work out.
"God bless you. I want to leave my blessings and God's blessing upon you.
In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."
After making this statement, Vernon said it was better in his head than it appeared on paper, because paper is a poor way to record a testimony, when you feel it so deeply inside. Quoting John, he said "I would not write to you with paper and ink; but I trust to come unto you, and speak face to face, that our joy may be full." (2 John 2:12)
Vernon's legacy is truly one of service by example. Though he preached many sermons with his lips, his greatest sermons were with his deeds. He shall be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him.
Vernon Jay Carlson, beloved husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, passed away peacefully in his sleep on the morning of October 24, 2021, at the age of ninety-seven. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Betty Jean Hurst; and their daughter, Linda Measom (Gary). Vernon was the youngest child in his family – he was also preceded in death by his six siblings. He is survived by seven children: Kathy (Gary) Croxall, Edward (Carrie), David (Elizabeth), Steven (Lucinda), Glen (Rosemary), Richard (Christen), and Michael (Michelle). His posterity includes 37 grandchildren and 95 great-grandchildren
Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 6, 2021, at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Maple Mountain Stake Center, 2188 East 100 South, Spanish Fork, Utah 84660. Two viewings will be held: the first viewing will be from 6:00-8:00 p.m. on Friday evening, November 5, 2021, at Walker Funeral Home, 187 South Main Street, Spanish Fork, Utah 84660. The second viewing will be at the church (Maple Mountain Stake Center) from 9:00-9:45 a.m. prior to the funeral service. Interment, with Military Honors, will follow at the Spanish Fork City Cemetery.
Regular chores were a necessary part of growing up in the Edward and Bertha Carlson family, especially because Edward's job as a sheepherder took him away from the family for long stretches of time. Vernon's childhood chores included laundry, caring for livestock (chickens and cows), weeding and harvesting the garden, cleaning soot off walls, and woodcutting. One job that Vernon did not enjoy at first, but knew the value of, was cutting wood for the winter fuel pile. He found some chores more enjoyable than others. As he later said, "digging potatoes and carrots day after day, in the Fall, got very tiresome;" whereas, he "learned to enjoy splitting the logs and took pride in seeing the woodshed filled with neatly-piled wood, knowing we would be able to keep warm and [that his] mother would have ample to bake bread." When his father became the Sexton of the Manti Cemetery in Vernon's teenage years, he often rode his bike there to visit his father and assisted him in his work there.
No less a part of work to Vernon's childhood was time to have fun and play. He engaged in many recreational activities, especially marbles & carom. He could play a mean game of carom, even into his nineties.
Though Vernon's youth was in the heart of The Great Depression, he never felt that he lacked for anything. His family always had adequate food to eat, clothes to wear, and a nice home to live in. Vernon simply said: "We didn't know there was a depression. To us, everyone was always the same as everyone else."
One particularly special event from Vernon's childhood, that left a lasting memory, was his baptism in the Manti Temple. It was very exciting to go where his mother and father frequently went. His baptism was followed by a tour of the building, causing Vernon to marvel at what the early pioneers were able to build with their limited resources.
Vernon, and several friends, enlisted in the U.S. Army and were called into active duty for WWII in May of 1943. The Army found that Vernon made an excellent mechanic, and he was trained in the maintenance and repair of B-29 bombers. He deployed to the island of Tinian, for one year, arriving on December 24, 1944, and returning to San Francisco on December 24, 1945. The island had been made into an air base from which B-29 bombers regularly made raids to Japan. He felt great joy when Japan surrendered, knowing that he could finally go home.
Vernon took advantage of the GI Bill to get a degree in accounting from BYU in Provo, Utah. Though intelligent and hard-working, he did not enjoy his classes and could not see himself working a desk job – he knew he needed physical labor as part of his daily work. In fact, the path of his future career was being laid at this time, as he assisted his brothers in operating Jolley Poultry. After classes, most days and on weekends, he would drive trucks for the poultry business, transporting either live or freshly-slaughtered chickens. "Sometimes," he said, "they even paid me."
Following college graduation, Vernon met Betty Hurst. Betty had been hired as the PE teacher at Manti High School a short time before this. After their first date, Vernon knew that Betty was the girl he wanted to take out. Vernon won Betty's heart, with Betty declaring, "Vernon had all the qualities I was looking for in a husband. He had a testimony of the Gospel. He was fun to be with and he had a good sense of humor; he was good to his parents, he was ambitious, he was neat and clean, and he was a hard worker. And last, but not least, he loved me in spite of all my faults."
By this time, Vernon and his brothers had sold out their interest in Jolley Poultry and began work, raising turkeys. They started raising turkeys in Manti, with the turkeys being processed in Nephi, where they also began to raise turkeys. After a few years, it became evident that Carlson Brothers wanted more control over the business and their future. This led to acquiring a majority share in the Utah Poultry Turkey Processing facility in Richfield. Vernon and Betty moved to Richfield, where they started their family and he worked in the Richfield Plant.
The Carlsons became known as honest and hardworking, and as a result, the local farmers were pleased to raise more turkeys knowing they could sell them to the Carlsons for processing in their Richfield Plant. This lasted for several years until the Carlson brothers shifted operations to Spanish Fork, prompting Vernon and Betty to move there in 1954.
During this time, Vernon and Betty had been actively growing their family, starting with Kathy in 1951, then Linda in 1953, Edward in 1954, and David in 1955. They continued to grow their family in Spanish Fork, adding Steven in 1958, Glen in 1959, Richard in 1962, and Michael in 1965. Vernon and Betty taught their children to be hard workers. For most of them, work inside and outside the home began at a very early age and continued until the day they left the house. Vernon led by example, and his children knew that their dad was never asking more from them than he was giving himself. His boys always found it difficult to keep pace with him when it came time to move things with a shovel. Vernon liked to make work as fun as possible. One of the jokes he liked to play on his sons was to sample turkey feed additives and give the impression of enjoying the experience. When asked if something tasted good, he would often say, "It's good if you like it." Following their dad's example, the kids would sample the same thing and find that it was quite disgusting. Vernon would then grin and say, "I didn't like it either."
One of the most significant phases of Vernon's life was his time as Bishop of the Spanish Fork 8th Ward. Despite having served in a branch presidency and as a counselor in the bishopric, receiving this call was a very humbling experience. When the Stake President told Vernon in a firm voice that the Lord wanted him to be the next Bishop of the Spanish Fork 8th Ward, Vernon put his face into his hands and told President Toronto "I can't do it." Betty, who was present at this meeting, put her hands on his knees and expressed her confidence in him and his ability to serve as the Lord had directed. The Stake President provided a similar assurance and Vernon accepted the call. Once again, Vernon was grateful for the support of his wife in a very demanding church calling, a calling Betty said she always knew that Vernon would someday have.
As a Bishop, Vernon made a point of visiting every family, in the ward, at their home at least once a year. With roughly two hundred families in the ward and 52 weeks in a year, this meant that four families would need to be visited every week, thus the regular visits on Wednesday and Thursday evenings, in addition to Mutual on Tuesday evenings, kept him very in tune with the ward members. He loved sending missionaries out from the ward and at one point in his time as Bishop, there were twenty-seven missionaries serving from the 8th Ward.
Vernon was always very generous and willing to help others. Vernon's children learned of this not because their father told them, but because many he helped wanted them to know what kind of man their father was.
Vernon loved to memorize poems and recite them to his children to teach them and provide correction. He often recited a poem that taught the value of love, hard work, and perseverance.
Retiring allowed Vernon and Betty to fulfill one of their lifelong dreams: to serve as missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Their call came to labor in the Sydney, Australia Mission, where they served with great enthusiasm. They had been home for only two years, when their bishop told them he felt impressed to invite them to serve another mission. They had a marvelous mission in Dayton, Tennessee, where they were able to help a number of people, including an entire family that got onto the covenant path of the Gospel.
When asked for a message to give to his posterity, Vernon said the following:
"The best thing I can leave [my posterity] is my testimony of the gospel. The gospel is true. Joseph Smith was a prophet and restored the true church to the earth. He saw Jesus and the Father in the Sacred Grove he restored the gospel to the earth. I want to give you my testimony that he did.
"I want to tell you that the church is true, and you need to live the words of the current living prophet. We have a living prophet on the earth today and you should follow his counsel. We're very lucky to live today where we have the Gospel restored, we have a chance to study the Scriptures and have the priesthood in our lives. I want each of my children and grandchildren to live the gospel and to keep the commandments and most especially to follow the words of the prophets.
"My testimony of the gospel is the best thing that I can leave with you. You'll have trials and hardships, but if you follow the gospel and the Commandments of God everything will work out.
"God bless you. I want to leave my blessings and God's blessing upon you.
In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."
After making this statement, Vernon said it was better in his head than it appeared on paper, because paper is a poor way to record a testimony, when you feel it so deeply inside. Quoting John, he said "I would not write to you with paper and ink; but I trust to come unto you, and speak face to face, that our joy may be full." (2 John 2:12)
Vernon's legacy is truly one of service by example. Though he preached many sermons with his lips, his greatest sermons were with his deeds. He shall be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him.
Vernon Jay Carlson, beloved husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, passed away peacefully in his sleep on the morning of October 24, 2021, at the age of ninety-seven. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Betty Jean Hurst; and their daughter, Linda Measom (Gary). Vernon was the youngest child in his family – he was also preceded in death by his six siblings. He is survived by seven children: Kathy (Gary) Croxall, Edward (Carrie), David (Elizabeth), Steven (Lucinda), Glen (Rosemary), Richard (Christen), and Michael (Michelle). His posterity includes 37 grandchildren and 95 great-grandchildren
Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 6, 2021, at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Maple Mountain Stake Center, 2188 East 100 South, Spanish Fork, Utah 84660. Two viewings will be held: the first viewing will be from 6:00-8:00 p.m. on Friday evening, November 5, 2021, at Walker Funeral Home, 187 South Main Street, Spanish Fork, Utah 84660. The second viewing will be at the church (Maple Mountain Stake Center) from 9:00-9:45 a.m. prior to the funeral service. Interment, with Military Honors, will follow at the Spanish Fork City Cemetery.
Vernon Jay Carlson was born April 25, 1924, in Manti, Utah. He came into a family with a rich Latter-day Saint heritage and a strong work ethic from both his father's and his mother's side. While his father, Edward, and his mother, Bertha, were both born in Manti, all four of his grandparents migrated from Europe to gather with the Saints in Zion.
Regular chores were a necessary part of growing up in the Edward and Bertha Carlson family, especially because Edward's job as a sheepherder took him away from the family for long stretches of time. Vernon's childhood chores included laundry, caring for livestock (chickens and cows), weeding and harvesting the garden, cleaning soot off walls, and woodcutting. One job that Vernon did not enjoy at first, but knew the value of, was cutting wood for the winter fuel pile. He found some chores more enjoyable than others. As he later said, "digging potatoes and carrots day after day, in the Fall, got very tiresome;" whereas, he "learned to enjoy splitting the logs and took pride in seeing the woodshed filled with neatly-piled wood, knowing we would be able to keep warm and [that his] mother would have ample to bake bread." When his father became the Sexton of the Manti Cemetery in Vernon's teenage years, he often rode his bike there to visit his father and assisted him in his work there.
No less a part of work to Vernon's childhood was time to have fun and play. He engaged in many recreational activities, especially marbles & carom. He could play a mean game of carom, even into his nineties.
Though Vernon's youth was in the heart of The Great Depression, he never felt that he lacked for anything. His family always had adequate food to eat, clothes to wear, and a nice home to live in. Vernon simply said: "We didn't know there was a depression. To us, everyone was always the same as everyone else."
One particularly special event from Vernon's childhood, that left a lasting memory, was his baptism in the Manti Temple. It was very exciting to go where his mother and father frequently went. His baptism was followed by a tour of the building, causing Vernon to marvel at what the early pioneers were able to build with their limited resources.
Vernon, and several friends, enlisted in the U.S. Army and were called into active duty for WWII in May of 1943. The Army found that Vernon made an excellent mechanic, and he was trained in the maintenance and repair of B-29 bombers. He deployed to the island of Tinian, for one year, arriving on December 24, 1944, and returning to San Francisco on December 24, 1945. The island had been made into an air base from which B-29 bombers regularly made raids to Japan. He felt great joy when Japan surrendered, knowing that he could finally go home.
Vernon took advantage of the GI Bill to get a degree in accounting from BYU in Provo, Utah. Though intelligent and hard-working, he did not enjoy his classes and could not see himself working a desk job – he knew he needed physical labor as part of his daily work. In fact, the path of his future career was being laid at this time, as he assisted his brothers in operating Jolley Poultry. After classes, most days and on weekends, he would drive trucks for the poultry business, transporting either live or freshly-slaughtered chickens. "Sometimes," he said, "they even paid me."
Following college graduation, Vernon met Betty Hurst. Betty had been hired as the PE teacher at Manti High School a short time before this. After their first date, Vernon knew that Betty was the girl he wanted to take out. Vernon won Betty's heart, with Betty declaring, "Vernon had all the qualities I was looking for in a husband. He had a testimony of the Gospel. He was fun to be with and he had a good sense of humor; he was good to his parents, he was ambitious, he was neat and clean, and he was a hard worker. And last, but not least, he loved me in spite of all my faults."
By this time, Vernon and his brothers had sold out their interest in Jolley Poultry and began work, raising turkeys. They started raising turkeys in Manti, with the turkeys being processed in Nephi, where they also began to raise turkeys. After a few years, it became evident that Carlson Brothers wanted more control over the business and their future. This led to acquiring a majority share in the Utah Poultry Turkey Processing facility in Richfield. Vernon and Betty moved to Richfield, where they started their family and he worked in the Richfield Plant.
The Carlsons became known as honest and hardworking, and as a result, the local farmers were pleased to raise more turkeys knowing they could sell them to the Carlsons for processing in their Richfield Plant. This lasted for several years until the Carlson brothers shifted operations to Spanish Fork, prompting Vernon and Betty to move there in 1954.
During this time, Vernon and Betty had been actively growing their family, starting with Kathy in 1951, then Linda in 1953, Edward in 1954, and David in 1955. They continued to grow their family in Spanish Fork, adding Steven in 1958, Glen in 1959, Richard in 1962, and Michael in 1965. Vernon and Betty taught their children to be hard workers. For most of them, work inside and outside the home began at a very early age and continued until the day they left the house. Vernon led by example, and his children knew that their dad was never asking more from them than he was giving himself. His boys always found it difficult to keep pace with him when it came time to move things with a shovel. Vernon liked to make work as fun as possible. One of the jokes he liked to play on his sons was to sample turkey feed additives and give the impression of enjoying the experience. When asked if something tasted good, he would often say, "It's good if you like it." Following their dad's example, the kids would sample the same thing and find that it was quite disgusting. Vernon would then grin and say, "I didn't like it either."
One of the most significant phases of Vernon's life was his time as Bishop of the Spanish Fork 8th Ward. Despite having served in a branch presidency and as a counselor in the bishopric, receiving this call was a very humbling experience. When the Stake President told Vernon in a firm voice that the Lord wanted him to be the next Bishop of the Spanish Fork 8th Ward, Vernon put his face into his hands and told President Toronto "I can't do it." Betty, who was present at this meeting, put her hands on his knees and expressed her confidence in him and his ability to serve as the Lord had directed. The Stake President provided a similar assurance and Vernon accepted the call. Once again, Vernon was grateful for the support of his wife in a very demanding church calling, a calling Betty said she always knew that Vernon would someday have.
As a Bishop, Vernon made a point of visiting every family, in the ward, at their home at least once a year. With roughly two hundred families in the ward and 52 weeks in a year, this meant that four families would need to be visited every week, thus the regular visits on Wednesday and Thursday evenings, in addition to Mutual on Tuesday evenings, kept him very in tune with the ward members. He loved sending missionaries out from the ward and at one point in his time as Bishop, there were twenty-seven missionaries serving from the 8th Ward.
Vernon was always very generous and willing to help others. Vernon's children learned of this not because their father told them, but because many he helped wanted them to know what kind of man their father was.
Vernon loved to memorize poems and recite them to his children to teach them and provide correction. He often recited a poem that taught the value of love, hard work, and perseverance.
Retiring allowed Vernon and Betty to fulfill one of their lifelong dreams: to serve as missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Their call came to labor in the Sydney, Australia Mission, where they served with great enthusiasm. They had been home for only two years, when their bishop told them he felt impressed to invite them to serve another mission. They had a marvelous mission in Dayton, Tennessee, where they were able to help a number of people, including an entire family that got onto the covenant path of the Gospel.
When asked for a message to give to his posterity, Vernon said the following:
"The best thing I can leave [my posterity] is my testimony of the gospel. The gospel is true. Joseph Smith was a prophet and restored the true church to the earth. He saw Jesus and the Father in the Sacred Grove he restored the gospel to the earth. I want to give you my testimony that he did.
"I want to tell you that the church is true, and you need to live the words of the current living prophet. We have a living prophet on the earth today and you should follow his counsel. We're very lucky to live today where we have the Gospel restored, we have a chance to study the Scriptures and have the priesthood in our lives. I want each of my children and grandchildren to live the gospel and to keep the commandments and most especially to follow the words of the prophets.
"My testimony of the gospel is the best thing that I can leave with you. You'll have trials and hardships, but if you follow the gospel and the Commandments of God everything will work out.
"God bless you. I want to leave my blessings and God's blessing upon you.
In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."
After making this statement, Vernon said it was better in his head than it appeared on paper, because paper is a poor way to record a testimony, when you feel it so deeply inside. Quoting John, he said "I would not write to you with paper and ink; but I trust to come unto you, and speak face to face, that our joy may be full." (2 John 2:12)
Vernon's legacy is truly one of service by example. Though he preached many sermons with his lips, his greatest sermons were with his deeds. He shall be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him.
Vernon Jay Carlson, beloved husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, passed away peacefully in his sleep on the morning of October 24, 2021, at the age of ninety-seven. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Betty Jean Hurst; and their daughter, Linda Measom (Gary). Vernon was the youngest child in his family – he was also preceded in death by his six siblings. He is survived by seven children: Kathy (Gary) Croxall, Edward (Carrie), David (Elizabeth), Steven (Lucinda), Glen (Rosemary), Richard (Christen), and Michael (Michelle). His posterity includes 37 grandchildren and 95 great-grandchildren
Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 6, 2021, at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Maple Mountain Stake Center, 2188 East 100 South, Spanish Fork, Utah 84660. Two viewings will be held: the first viewing will be from 6:00-8:00 p.m. on Friday evening, November 5, 2021, at Walker Funeral Home, 187 South Main Street, Spanish Fork, Utah 84660. The second viewing will be at the church (Maple Mountain Stake Center) from 9:00-9:45 a.m. prior to the funeral service. Interment, with Military Honors, will follow at the Spanish Fork City Cemetery.
Regular chores were a necessary part of growing up in the Edward and Bertha Carlson family, especially because Edward's job as a sheepherder took him away from the family for long stretches of time. Vernon's childhood chores included laundry, caring for livestock (chickens and cows), weeding and harvesting the garden, cleaning soot off walls, and woodcutting. One job that Vernon did not enjoy at first, but knew the value of, was cutting wood for the winter fuel pile. He found some chores more enjoyable than others. As he later said, "digging potatoes and carrots day after day, in the Fall, got very tiresome;" whereas, he "learned to enjoy splitting the logs and took pride in seeing the woodshed filled with neatly-piled wood, knowing we would be able to keep warm and [that his] mother would have ample to bake bread." When his father became the Sexton of the Manti Cemetery in Vernon's teenage years, he often rode his bike there to visit his father and assisted him in his work there.
No less a part of work to Vernon's childhood was time to have fun and play. He engaged in many recreational activities, especially marbles & carom. He could play a mean game of carom, even into his nineties.
Though Vernon's youth was in the heart of The Great Depression, he never felt that he lacked for anything. His family always had adequate food to eat, clothes to wear, and a nice home to live in. Vernon simply said: "We didn't know there was a depression. To us, everyone was always the same as everyone else."
One particularly special event from Vernon's childhood, that left a lasting memory, was his baptism in the Manti Temple. It was very exciting to go where his mother and father frequently went. His baptism was followed by a tour of the building, causing Vernon to marvel at what the early pioneers were able to build with their limited resources.
Vernon, and several friends, enlisted in the U.S. Army and were called into active duty for WWII in May of 1943. The Army found that Vernon made an excellent mechanic, and he was trained in the maintenance and repair of B-29 bombers. He deployed to the island of Tinian, for one year, arriving on December 24, 1944, and returning to San Francisco on December 24, 1945. The island had been made into an air base from which B-29 bombers regularly made raids to Japan. He felt great joy when Japan surrendered, knowing that he could finally go home.
Vernon took advantage of the GI Bill to get a degree in accounting from BYU in Provo, Utah. Though intelligent and hard-working, he did not enjoy his classes and could not see himself working a desk job – he knew he needed physical labor as part of his daily work. In fact, the path of his future career was being laid at this time, as he assisted his brothers in operating Jolley Poultry. After classes, most days and on weekends, he would drive trucks for the poultry business, transporting either live or freshly-slaughtered chickens. "Sometimes," he said, "they even paid me."
Following college graduation, Vernon met Betty Hurst. Betty had been hired as the PE teacher at Manti High School a short time before this. After their first date, Vernon knew that Betty was the girl he wanted to take out. Vernon won Betty's heart, with Betty declaring, "Vernon had all the qualities I was looking for in a husband. He had a testimony of the Gospel. He was fun to be with and he had a good sense of humor; he was good to his parents, he was ambitious, he was neat and clean, and he was a hard worker. And last, but not least, he loved me in spite of all my faults."
By this time, Vernon and his brothers had sold out their interest in Jolley Poultry and began work, raising turkeys. They started raising turkeys in Manti, with the turkeys being processed in Nephi, where they also began to raise turkeys. After a few years, it became evident that Carlson Brothers wanted more control over the business and their future. This led to acquiring a majority share in the Utah Poultry Turkey Processing facility in Richfield. Vernon and Betty moved to Richfield, where they started their family and he worked in the Richfield Plant.
The Carlsons became known as honest and hardworking, and as a result, the local farmers were pleased to raise more turkeys knowing they could sell them to the Carlsons for processing in their Richfield Plant. This lasted for several years until the Carlson brothers shifted operations to Spanish Fork, prompting Vernon and Betty to move there in 1954.
During this time, Vernon and Betty had been actively growing their family, starting with Kathy in 1951, then Linda in 1953, Edward in 1954, and David in 1955. They continued to grow their family in Spanish Fork, adding Steven in 1958, Glen in 1959, Richard in 1962, and Michael in 1965. Vernon and Betty taught their children to be hard workers. For most of them, work inside and outside the home began at a very early age and continued until the day they left the house. Vernon led by example, and his children knew that their dad was never asking more from them than he was giving himself. His boys always found it difficult to keep pace with him when it came time to move things with a shovel. Vernon liked to make work as fun as possible. One of the jokes he liked to play on his sons was to sample turkey feed additives and give the impression of enjoying the experience. When asked if something tasted good, he would often say, "It's good if you like it." Following their dad's example, the kids would sample the same thing and find that it was quite disgusting. Vernon would then grin and say, "I didn't like it either."
One of the most significant phases of Vernon's life was his time as Bishop of the Spanish Fork 8th Ward. Despite having served in a branch presidency and as a counselor in the bishopric, receiving this call was a very humbling experience. When the Stake President told Vernon in a firm voice that the Lord wanted him to be the next Bishop of the Spanish Fork 8th Ward, Vernon put his face into his hands and told President Toronto "I can't do it." Betty, who was present at this meeting, put her hands on his knees and expressed her confidence in him and his ability to serve as the Lord had directed. The Stake President provided a similar assurance and Vernon accepted the call. Once again, Vernon was grateful for the support of his wife in a very demanding church calling, a calling Betty said she always knew that Vernon would someday have.
As a Bishop, Vernon made a point of visiting every family, in the ward, at their home at least once a year. With roughly two hundred families in the ward and 52 weeks in a year, this meant that four families would need to be visited every week, thus the regular visits on Wednesday and Thursday evenings, in addition to Mutual on Tuesday evenings, kept him very in tune with the ward members. He loved sending missionaries out from the ward and at one point in his time as Bishop, there were twenty-seven missionaries serving from the 8th Ward.
Vernon was always very generous and willing to help others. Vernon's children learned of this not because their father told them, but because many he helped wanted them to know what kind of man their father was.
Vernon loved to memorize poems and recite them to his children to teach them and provide correction. He often recited a poem that taught the value of love, hard work, and perseverance.
Retiring allowed Vernon and Betty to fulfill one of their lifelong dreams: to serve as missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Their call came to labor in the Sydney, Australia Mission, where they served with great enthusiasm. They had been home for only two years, when their bishop told them he felt impressed to invite them to serve another mission. They had a marvelous mission in Dayton, Tennessee, where they were able to help a number of people, including an entire family that got onto the covenant path of the Gospel.
When asked for a message to give to his posterity, Vernon said the following:
"The best thing I can leave [my posterity] is my testimony of the gospel. The gospel is true. Joseph Smith was a prophet and restored the true church to the earth. He saw Jesus and the Father in the Sacred Grove he restored the gospel to the earth. I want to give you my testimony that he did.
"I want to tell you that the church is true, and you need to live the words of the current living prophet. We have a living prophet on the earth today and you should follow his counsel. We're very lucky to live today where we have the Gospel restored, we have a chance to study the Scriptures and have the priesthood in our lives. I want each of my children and grandchildren to live the gospel and to keep the commandments and most especially to follow the words of the prophets.
"My testimony of the gospel is the best thing that I can leave with you. You'll have trials and hardships, but if you follow the gospel and the Commandments of God everything will work out.
"God bless you. I want to leave my blessings and God's blessing upon you.
In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."
After making this statement, Vernon said it was better in his head than it appeared on paper, because paper is a poor way to record a testimony, when you feel it so deeply inside. Quoting John, he said "I would not write to you with paper and ink; but I trust to come unto you, and speak face to face, that our joy may be full." (2 John 2:12)
Vernon's legacy is truly one of service by example. Though he preached many sermons with his lips, his greatest sermons were with his deeds. He shall be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him.
Vernon Jay Carlson, beloved husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, passed away peacefully in his sleep on the morning of October 24, 2021, at the age of ninety-seven. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Betty Jean Hurst; and their daughter, Linda Measom (Gary). Vernon was the youngest child in his family – he was also preceded in death by his six siblings. He is survived by seven children: Kathy (Gary) Croxall, Edward (Carrie), David (Elizabeth), Steven (Lucinda), Glen (Rosemary), Richard (Christen), and Michael (Michelle). His posterity includes 37 grandchildren and 95 great-grandchildren
Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 6, 2021, at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Maple Mountain Stake Center, 2188 East 100 South, Spanish Fork, Utah 84660. Two viewings will be held: the first viewing will be from 6:00-8:00 p.m. on Friday evening, November 5, 2021, at Walker Funeral Home, 187 South Main Street, Spanish Fork, Utah 84660. The second viewing will be at the church (Maple Mountain Stake Center) from 9:00-9:45 a.m. prior to the funeral service. Interment, with Military Honors, will follow at the Spanish Fork City Cemetery.
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