Vernon Arthur LeRoy

Vernon Arthur LeRoy, 90, Pensacola, Fla., died Thursday, March 22, 2007, at the Haven of Our Lady of Peace nursing home. He lived in the Lake Geneva area at one time and has grandchildren in the area.

He was born in South Bend, Ind., March 28, 1916, the son of Halsey Scoville LeRoy and Martha Leland Brewer. His maternal grandmother was Sarah Martin, and Vernon was proud of the fact that published genealogy books traced the Martin family back to their voyage from Weymouth, England, to a place they called Weymouth, Mass., in 1635, 15 years after the Pilgrims landed. The family is further traced to Martin de Toure, whose sister was the mother of St. Patrick of Ireland.

Vernon was working with his father designing and building residential and commercial buildings in Marianna, Fla., when he met and married Ada Alice Nichols of Two Egg, Fla. He became a flight instructor for Spartan Aviation in Tulsa, Okla., where he trained many students including Army Air Corps cadets, and one Ben Hogan. In 1944 he accepted a pilot position with United Airlines along with his brother, Warren. His first airplane was the Douglas DC-3. During World War II he flew in the Air Transport Command, carrying troops and supplies to the Pacific Theater of operations. He retired in 1976 while flying the Boeing B-747 between Chicago and Honolulu.

Ada died in 1995 and LeRoy moved to Eustice, Fla. In 1999 he married Mary Lou Peters and moved with her to Pensacola in 2004.

07/29/2022 EJS