Vernon Irvin Paronto died unexpectedly at his home in Helena, on Saturday March 19, 2011. He was 81 years old.<\/p>\n
Vernon was born on July 21, 1929 in Yakima, Washington to Henery and Bertha (Henke) Paronto. He attended Roosevelt Grade School, Franklin Junior High, and Yakima High School.<\/p>\n
Vernon enlisted in the Army in 1951 and was stationed in Korea, working as a mechanic, until his discharge in 1953. After discharge from the military he worked as a mechanic in Washington State before accepting a job with the Veterans Administration at Fort Harrison.<\/p>\n
Vernon worked as a police officer for the VA at Ft. Harrison, retiring in 1984 after 29 years of employment. He was a member of the Montana National Guard and a volunteer firefighter. He was the owner of Hounder CB sales in Helena from 1975 until 2002, when deteriorating health forced him close the shop he loved so dearly. He was an avid reader, and especially enjoyed science fiction and fantasy novels. Vernon was never one to sit around when he could do something else, and he enrolled at UM Helena to take computer science classes in 2004, enjoying them greatly while he was able to go to school. He also had a passion for cars, especially racing and NASCAR.<\/p>\n
Vernon met and married his first wife, Maybelle Lee, while both were employed at the VA. They were married from July 1959 until her death in 1994. They both enjoyed fishing, traveling and were members of the Helena Mineral Society, NARFE, and both were licensed amateur \u201cham\u201d radio operators for many years.<\/p>\n
Vernon re-met a friend, Vicki Henderson, and they were married in August of 2000. He had no children, but she brought a whole family of children and grandchildren into his life. He and Vicki shared a lot of the same interests, and did some traveling. The grandchildren kept him busy with endless inquires and boundless energy, even delighting in such questions as \u201cGrandpa, why are you so old?\u201d, or \u201cGrandpa, where did your hair go?\u201d
\nVernon is survived by his wife of 10 years, Vicki; step-daughters Sara Hardy of Great Falls; Michelle (Troy) Barry, of Pearland, TX; Rebecca (Anthony) Foor, of Everett, PA; Joanna Henderson, of Helena; Amanda Henderson (Glenn) Gamble of Helena. He had 10 grandchildren, and one great-grandson. He is also survived by sisters Betty Burow, Fern Bolyard, Elma Neifert, Wilma Johnston; brother Earl Paronto; and numerous nieces, nephews, and great-nieces and great-nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, Henery and Bertha Paronto, and his beloved wife Maybelle.<\/p>\n
A memorial service is scheduled at 11 a.m., Friday, March 25, 2011 at Retz Funeral Home Chapel with military graveside honors to follow at Forestvale Cemetery. Please join the family for a continuing celebration of Vernon\u2019s life at The Moose Lodge, 4750 North Montana Ave., Helena, following graveside services. Memorials may be sent in Vernon\u2019s name to the Lewis and Clark Humane Society, PO Box 4455, Helena, MT 59604 or to that of donor\u2019s choice. To offer a condolence to the family or to share a memory of Vernon, please visit www.retzfuneralhome.com.<\/p>\n","photo":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/1110049.jpg","youtube_video_url":"","family_email":"","family_first_name":"","family_last_name":"","event_title5":"","event_date5":"","start_time5":"","end_time5":"","location5":"","address5":"","city5":"","state5":"","zipcode5":"","event_title6":"","event_date":"","start_time6":"","end_time6":"","location6":"","address6":"","city6":"","state6":"","zipcode6":"","event_title7":"","event_date7":"","start_time7":"","end_time7":"","location7":"","address7":"","city7":"","state7":"","zipcode7":"","event_title8":"","event_date8":"","start_time8":"","end_time8":"","location8":"","address8":"","city8":"","state8":"","zipcode8":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/case\/23299","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/case"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/case"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23299"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}