Vernon Franklin HIGHLEY passed away 1/17/06
Replies: 0
Vernon Franklin HIGHLEY passed away 1/17/06
| Rebecca Highley May (View posts) | Posted: 27 Jan 2006 7:25PM GMT |
Classification: Obituary
Surnames: HIGHLEY
My uncle passed away and this is his obit.
Vernon F. Highley
Vernon F. Highley was born on July 18, 1933 in Carterville, Missouri and passed away on Jan. 17, 2006 in Fresno, California, due to complications from cancer.
Vern was president of Highley Associates, a federal relations firm founded in 1985, in Washington, D.C. The firm relocated to Fresno, CA in 2000. He represented various organizations including Cotton Growers Warehouse Association, National Watermelon Association, Imperial County California, and the Imperial Valley Conservation Research Center. Vern began his career in agricultural marketing when he served on the executive staff of Calcot, a cotton marketing cooperative in Bakersfield, CA. Ten years later, he joined the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture where he became Special Assistant to the Secretary of Agriculture, Clifford Hardin, and eventually served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Secretary Earl Butz. He later headed USDA operations in the Western states and Pacific Trust Territories. He returned to the private sector in 1975 joining Plains Cotton Cooperative Association, in Lubbock, TX.
In 1982, Vern was persuaded by Secretary of Agriculture, Jack Block, to return to Washington, D.C. to serve as Administrator of the Agricultural Marketing Service. He went on to become Executive Director of the Farmers and Ranchers for the Reagan-Bush and Bush-Quayle Presidential campaigns before forming Highley Associates. He lived in the Washington D.C. area off and on since 1970.
Vern attended high school in Holtville, CA and graduated in 1956 from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA with a B.S. in Liberal Arts Journalism. At Cal Poly, Vern was a member of the ROTC and later served as a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army at Fort Bliss.
Vern was Cal Poly Alumnus of the Year in 1974. He received numerous awards for Federal Government service and many achievements in the Agriculture industry. He was a Master Mason of Andrew Jackson Lodge No. 120, Alexandria, VA, A.F. & A.M. He served as a deacon and choir director at Mt. Calvary Community Church in Alexandria, VA. He was a member of the Christian BusinessmenÃs Association and the Ag Roundtable in Fresno, CA.
He is preceded in death by his parents, George Vernon and Mary Elizabeth Highley and sister, Darline McLaughlin. Survivors include his wife, Patricia Faye Highley; sons, Sydney Hayden Highley and his wife Jennifer of Sacramento, CA, Stephen Franklin Highley of Fresno, CA; a stepson, Daniel Lee Rakes, Jr. and his wife Melody of Centreville, VA.; sister, E. Colleen Ludwig and her husband Richard of Holtville, CA; brother, Sidney G. Highley of Rosamond, CA; and six grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held at National Memorial Park in Falls Church, VA, on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2006. A memorial service will be held in Holtville, CA in the near future.
Vernon F. Highley
Vernon F. Highley was born on July 18, 1933 in Carterville, Missouri and passed away on Jan. 17, 2006 in Fresno, California, due to complications from cancer.
Vern was president of Highley Associates, a federal relations firm founded in 1985, in Washington, D.C. The firm relocated to Fresno, CA in 2000. He represented various organizations including Cotton Growers Warehouse Association, National Watermelon Association, Imperial County California, and the Imperial Valley Conservation Research Center. Vern began his career in agricultural marketing when he served on the executive staff of Calcot, a cotton marketing cooperative in Bakersfield, CA. Ten years later, he joined the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture where he became Special Assistant to the Secretary of Agriculture, Clifford Hardin, and eventually served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Secretary Earl Butz. He later headed USDA operations in the Western states and Pacific Trust Territories. He returned to the private sector in 1975 joining Plains Cotton Cooperative Association, in Lubbock, TX.
In 1982, Vern was persuaded by Secretary of Agriculture, Jack Block, to return to Washington, D.C. to serve as Administrator of the Agricultural Marketing Service. He went on to become Executive Director of the Farmers and Ranchers for the Reagan-Bush and Bush-Quayle Presidential campaigns before forming Highley Associates. He lived in the Washington D.C. area off and on since 1970.
Vern attended high school in Holtville, CA and graduated in 1956 from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA with a B.S. in Liberal Arts Journalism. At Cal Poly, Vern was a member of the ROTC and later served as a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army at Fort Bliss.
Vern was Cal Poly Alumnus of the Year in 1974. He received numerous awards for Federal Government service and many achievements in the Agriculture industry. He was a Master Mason of Andrew Jackson Lodge No. 120, Alexandria, VA, A.F. & A.M. He served as a deacon and choir director at Mt. Calvary Community Church in Alexandria, VA. He was a member of the Christian BusinessmenÃs Association and the Ag Roundtable in Fresno, CA.
He is preceded in death by his parents, George Vernon and Mary Elizabeth Highley and sister, Darline McLaughlin. Survivors include his wife, Patricia Faye Highley; sons, Sydney Hayden Highley and his wife Jennifer of Sacramento, CA, Stephen Franklin Highley of Fresno, CA; a stepson, Daniel Lee Rakes, Jr. and his wife Melody of Centreville, VA.; sister, E. Colleen Ludwig and her husband Richard of Holtville, CA; brother, Sidney G. Highley of Rosamond, CA; and six grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held at National Memorial Park in Falls Church, VA, on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2006. A memorial service will be held in Holtville, CA in the near future.
| Attachments: | |||
|
| |||