Until the age of 15 he lived in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin with his father
Verne Sr., his mother LaVerle, his older sister Sharon and his two younger
brothers Dale and Arni. Verne loved growing up in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin and had
many Great memories of swimming and boating in the lake, snowmobiling and
skiing in the winter and getting into mischief with his two brothers and his friends all year long.
In 1969 at the age of 15 when his family moved to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida he was so
excited to live near the ocean and before too long he was spending most
of his days at the beach and learning to scuba dive, which became his number one sport.
Later in the mid 70's Verne became a Fort Lauderdale beach lifeguard.
Verne graduated from Fort Lauderdale High school in 1972, and then went to Broward community college for two years.
Verne started working at the age 16 at the Purple Pickle in the Pompano fashion square and from
the time he started working he never stopped. Verne was taught, and always believed
that if you want something bad enough, you have to work hard for it, and that hard work does pay off.
He also believed that if you make a decision to have a family, that it is your
responsibility to provide for their needs and the lifestyle that you want for them and for yourself.
Verne worked hard his whole life, always putting his family first before himself, and he worked two jobs at one time, more than once throughout his career.
After Verne graduated in 1972 he worked at the Sea Grill restaurant on 4th ave in Fort Lauderdale. He worked during the day as a short order cook and because he had dreams and goals, he also worked in the parking lot at night as a parking attendant. At that point Verne was still trying to figure out what it was he wanted to do for the rest of his working life. He enjoyed working in the restaurant business, but it wasn't his passion.
In 1971 Verne was introduced to the Love of his life and after 3 years of becoming
very close friends, he and Terri Urick were married on August 2, 1975.
Verne continued to work at the Sea Grill Restaurant in the kitchen and in the parking lot at night, until the owners of the restaurant decided to add on a retail fish market on the south side of the building. They named it the Side door fish market and Verne ran the business for them for the first few years. That was the beginning of Verne's experience and passion of what would end up being his career for the next 46 years in the retail fish market business. After leaving the Side Door, Verne gained more experience and love for the business as he went on to work at POP's fish market in Deerfield beach and then at the original Fish Peddler in Sunrise, Fl.
Verne and Terri became parents in 1979 when their son Verne was born and again in 1981 when their daughter, Jenni was born.
Verne, Terri, Lil Verne and Jenni grew strong as a family, as they enjoyed boating, the beach, some travel when they could, and daily family life at their home in Deerfield beach where both of their kids grew up and where many precious memories were made.
In 1998 Verne was given the opportunity to own and grow the Fish Peddler East.
Verne has worked in, loved, and grown the fish market for the past 25 years.
The Fish Peddler East has been Verne's Pride and joy; as he created a business of fresh, quality seafood, great customer service and a place where he could offer individuals who shared his belief, that hard work pays off; a place to be employed, and to also be apart of a close nit family, at the same time.
His own two children also worked at the market for a time and his daughter Jenni became the General manager of the store; which enabled Verne and Terri to spend precious time in NC.
In 2009 Verne and Terri traveled to Forest city, NC to visit their son and grandchildren, along with Terri's sister and her family who also live in NC. They fell in love with what would end up being their "getaway" and what was intended to be their future retirement home in Forest city. Verne loved Forest city, and thoroughly enjoyed the wide open spaces where he and Terri could feed the deer, and enjoy their dogs, Boomer, Buster, Sassy and BeBe . Verne also loved driving his tractor and working on their land.
Verne and Terri were married for 46 years and would have celebrated their 47th Anniversary in 2022. Verne was a husband, a brother, a father. A grandfather and a son. Even though his own parents had passed away many years ago, he was still son to his father in law Robert Urick who will also miss him dearly. AND...Verne was a friend.
Verne was a friend to All, and an enemy of None. He was the true meaning
of a people person. He would greet most everyone he made eye contact with, and it was not out of the ordinary for him to strike up a conversation with a stranger in a parking lot of the grocery store or a hardware store or anywhere else that he went. And It all started with... "Hi, How ya doin?"
Verne was truly curious and interested in what people did for a living and what experiences they would share, or what bit of information he could learn just by talking with someone new. Verne was one of a kind and he will be truly missed by Many.. Especially by his wife Terri, his son Verne, his grand-daughters Veronica and Erika, his sister Shay, his brother Arni and his father-in-law "Dad". The rest of Verne's family and friends will also miss him dearly.
In Verne's heart his family included every member of the staff at the Fish Peddler east, many of whom have worked with him for many years.
He loved and respected them and genuinely cared about their lives and their happiness. Everyone who knew Verne, knew him to be easy going and funny. Verne was lighthearted and enjoyed being a teaser. There are no words to express the true sorrow of his loss. Verne and Terri's daughter Jenni passed away in July of 2021 and that was a Great loss to them and many who loved her. Terri has no doubt that Verne and Jenni are together again in heaven, as he joined his mother, father and brother, who passed before him. Verne believed deeply in our Lord GOD and he prayed and gave thanks to him every day. He was extremely grateful for all that GOD had blessed him with. Especially the love of his family and his friends. Love is precious and life is short, and as Verne's wife, and the one who knew him best, I believe that if Verne could say anything right now to all of us who knew and loved him, it would be this ...To Appreciate the good times, don't focus too long on the bad ones, and Live life while you can, because none of us will get out of here alive. I miss the love of my life every minute, and I will be grateful Always for the blessing of being his friend, and his wife for so many years. I have been truly blessed. Verne did not want a funeral, but I believe that he would approve of a Memorial Gathering of his family and all of his friends.
A Memorial gathering for Verne will be held at Hugh's Catering in Oakland Park, Fl on March 13th at 6:30pm.
COMPARTA UN OBITUARIO
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