Vernon Sid Webb, 78
Vernon Sid Webb, 78, passed away on Thursday, April 27, 2006, at his residence in Columbia Falls.
He was born on Oct. 26, 1927, at Birch Tree, Mo., the son of Ernest and Ester Elizabeth (Bailey) Webb. He received his early education in Birch Tree and graduated from Birch Tree High School in 1945. He began his working life plowing behind a mule and finished it by raising a family.
He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and later received a Bachelor of Science in agriculture with a major in soil science and a minor in chemistry at Montana State University.
He was united in marriage to Rita Aileen Halseth in Kalispell on Sept. 16, 1951.
He worked as a soil scientist and soil conservationist with the Bureau of Land Management and Soil Conservation Services, retiring in 1982. He was a man's man who put family first his whole life. A Christian who worshiped not just by going to church but living his religion all day every day. He was an outdoor enthusiast. He was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
He was preceded in death by his parents and six brothers and sisters.
He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Rita Webb, of Columbia Falls; his seven children, son, Vernon Webb and wife, Naida, of Dover, Del.; daughter, Barbara Werner and husband, Dean, of Columbia Falls; son, Ernest Webb and wife, Reina, of Rexburg, Idaho; daughter, Deborah Bingham and husband, Steve, of Twin Falls; son, Mike Webb and wife, Karel, of Columbia Falls; son, Byron Webb and wife, Cindee, of Hillsboro, Ore.; and daughter, Becky Busick and husband, Matt, of Columbia Falls; one brother, Ernest Webb of Oklahoma; and two sisters, Ethel Graf of Southern California and Betty Lewis of Arizona; 34 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.
Funeral services for Vernon Webb will be held at 1 p.m. Monday, May 1, at the Church of Christ of Latter-day Saints in Columbia Falls. Burial will follow services at Woodlawn Cemetery in Columbia Falls. Visitation will be one hour before services at the church.
Johnson Mortuary and Crematory is caring for Vernon's family.