Vern McMahon

TORRINGTON, WYOMING...........Funeral services for VERN AUGUST MCMAHON, 80, will be held at 2pm Tuesday, August 21, 2012 at the Bethel Baptist Church with Pastor Ken Doolin officiating. Burial with military honors by the Wyoming National Guard will follow at the Valley View Cemetery. Vern died August 15, 2012 at the Goshen Care Center. Memorials may be made to Valley Christian School. Visitation will be Monday from 3pm to 7pm at the funeral home and the casket will be closed at the service. Arrangements are under the direction of the Colyer Funeral Home and friends may send condolences to the family at www.colyerfuneralhome.com. Vern was born July 5, 1932 in Thief River Falls, Minnesota the son of Verner August and Susanna Marie (Stenvik) McMahon. He grew up in Thief River Falls where he graduated from high school. Vern served in the US Army during the Korean Conflict. He married LaVonne Emmel on September 19, 1952 in Clearbrook, Minnesota. He completed his undergraduate work at Saint Cloud State University at Saint Cloud, Minnesota. Vern went on to earn his doctorate in Biochemistry at the University of Illinois and then completed a Post Doctoral Fellowship in Biochemistry at the University of California Davis. In 1965 the family moved to Laramie, Wyoming where he taught Biochemistry and did research at the University of Wyoming. In 1983 they moved to Boulder, Colorado where he was a consultant for mining companies. They moved to Torrington, Wyoming in 1995. Vern enjoyed hunting, fishing, golf, bike riding, music, and being a choir director. He was a member of Bethel Baptist Church, Gideons International, the American Association of Plant Physiologists, the American Chemical Society, and the Society for Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America. He served on the board of directors of the Nation Baptist Conference. Vern is survived by his wife LaVonne of Torrington, Wyoming; a son Mark Wayne McMahon and his wife Donna of Longmont, Colorado; a daughter Patricia Carol Kelly and her husband John of Torrington; two sisters Shirley (Allen) Irvin of Modesto, California and Sonia Weith of St. Paul, Minnesota; and two grandchildren Ryan Vern Kelly and Cameron Mark Kelly of Torrington. He was preceded in death by his parents and three brothers Bailey, Stanley, and Grant.

Vern McMahon

July 5, 1932 - August 15, 2012