Vernon B. Dreyer

MILWAUKIE, Ore. - Former Power resident and Navy veteran Vernon B. Dreyer, 86, died of natural causes Dec. 15, 2009, at his home in Milwaukie, Ore.
Burial with military honors is 11 a.m. April 30 at Willamette National Cemetery, followed by a celebration of his life at 1 p.m. at the Wings of Freedom Showcase at The Bomber Restaurant in Milwaukie. Crowne Memorial Center of Milwaukie is in charge of arrangements.
Vern was born Dec. 21, 1922, the second of four children born to Carl and Catherine Dreyer, who emigrated from Europe and homesteaded in the Power, Mont., area during the Depres-sion of the 1930s.
Vern played football in and graduated from high school in Power in 1942, and joined the Navy the following December. He was trained as an airplane me-chanic, served in many Navy facilities during World War II and was honorably discharged in 1946. He often joked about being a sailor and never setting foot on a ship. Not one to be defeated, Vern finally took that step in 1979, when he traveled to Pearl Harbor to accompany his nephew, a sailor, aboard the USS Oklahoma City, on its weeklong decommissioning voyage to San Francisco.
After his discharge from the Navy, Vern leased a dry land wheat farm near Dutton, Mont., and was a successful farmer. In 1958, he moved to Portland, Ore., where he married Mae in 1959, and began his 30-year career as a pressman at the Oregonian (1959-89).
Throughout his life, Vern valued hard work and loved to share a good joke. He was an avid bike rider, riding his bike to work in downtown Portland what-ever the weather, and participating in many big rides, including the Seattle to Portland (STP) and CycleOregon events. Vern loved the earth. His favorite pastimes included working in his yard, reading history, visiting museums, fishing trips to the coast and adventures of all kinds. One of his favorite trips was a weeklong backpacking trip through the mountains of Glacier National Park at age 60.
Vern loved animals of all kinds and wouldn't harm an insect if it bit him. His love for animals was evident by the number of stray cats he rescued and raised, the furred and feathered friends he fed on his deck, and his donations to the Humane Society through-out the years. Vern and Mae participated in cat shows in the Portland area and received many awards for their prize cats.
He was preceded in death by both of his parents; his wife of 37 years, Mae "Bobbie" (Nickovich); his brother, Harold; and sisters Bernice Hauck of Portland, and Louise (Harold) Hermanson of Gresham, Ore.
He is survived by stepsons Mark Lipshitz and Jimmy Bennett; and many nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, Vern would be delighted if you made a donation to the Oregon Humane Society.
Condolences may be posted online at www.gftribune.com/obituaries.