Vernon Brandt, 1920-2005

Vernon Brandt passed to his heavenly home on Sunday, September 4, 2005 at the Abilene Memorial Hospital in Abilene, KS. He was 84 years of age at the time of his passing.

Vernon was born on October 20, 1920 in Detroit, KS. He was one of three sons and two daughters born to Jesse R. and Myrtle (Neher) Brandt. He grew up in the area of his birth, attending the local schools and graduated from Jabbok Bible School at Thomas, Oklahoma with the class of 1939. After his high school graduation, Vernon attended Messiah College in Pennsylvania for two years.

On November 18, 1944 he and Anna Dorcas Lauver were united in marriage in Mifflintown, PA. In time, this marriage, which was to last more than 60 years, would be blessed with the arrival of three sons and one daughter.

In 1945, he and Dorcas moved to the Abilene area where he was employed by KP&L until his retirement in 1980. After his retirement he and Dorcas spent two years in Upland, CA, where they were the administrative couple for Upland Manor, a Brethren in Christ retirement home. After this they spent three years in Pennsylvania where they were the pastoral couple of the Collier Brethren in Christ Church. In 1985 they returned to Abilene to spend the remainder of their lives.

Vernon accepted the Lord early in life and was active in his service all of his adult life, serving in various ways and using his gift in music as the song leader in the Abilene Brethren in Christ Church for many years. He was a member of the Zion Brethren in Christ Church in Abilene.

A tribute was given to Vernon and Dorcas by Sherry Johnson, a sister-member of the Zion Church, in the form of a poem, entitled “True Love.” The latter part of the poem reads as a fitting eulogy for a man committed to a lifelong partnership with his wife, and to an eternal union with his Savior:

Your actions have really taught me the meaning of true love.
It’s not some selfish feeling, rather it’s from the precious Lord above!
In His word, the good Lord tells us “love is patient, love is kind.”
Serving for our Father, a truer love we cannot find.
I see two faithful servants living out the meaning of love,
true commitment, and devotion.
I can’t express my feelings, of admiration and deep emotion.
So always know you did your part here upon the earth.
To show others Christ’s love in action,
of which nothing holds more worth!

WELCOME