Vernon H. Schroeder was born March 14, 1911, in Hayes Township near Manning, Iowa, the son of Johannes H. and Clara Kruse Schroeder. He died May 28, 1991, at the Jennie Edmundson Hospital in Council Bluffs, Iowa, at the age of 80 years.

Vernon was born on a farm and received his education in a rural school near his home. He was baptized October 29, 1911, and confirmed in the Lutheran faith January 22, 1928, at the Zion Lutheran Church in Manning, Iowa. As a young boy he worked with his parents on the family farm before becoming a farmhand elsewhere for 11 years. He then worked for the REA for three years and in that time he helped to establish the REA in western Iowa.

On December 31, 1942, Vernon was united in marriage to Sophie Jaacks Sievers at the Zion Lutheran Parsonage by the Rev. C.W. Schmidt. The couple settled on a farm in Hanover Township where they farmed for 30 years and raised four children. In February of 1973, they retired from farming and moved to Denison. In his spare time, Vernon enjoyed collecting scale model tractors and socializing with friends in a friendly game of cards. He was a member of Zion Lutheran Church in Denison and a life-long member of the Hayes Township Schuetzen Verein Five Mile House.

He was preceded in death by his parents and one sister Bernice Justice. Survivors include his wife Sophie of Denison; two children, Loween Clayberg of Webster City, and Lowell and his wife, Jean Ann of Denison; two step-children, Harold Sievers and his wife, Nancy of Lockport, Illinois, and Harlow Sievers and his wife, Jolene of Humboldt; also five grandchildren: Aaron and Nathan Clayberg of Webster City, Jeremy, Julie and Jaclyn Schroeder of Denison; one step-grandchild, Kelly Pruneau of Overland Park, Kansas; two brothers, Wilbur and his wife, Gertrude of Westside, and Merlin and his wife, Ruth of Denison; and two sisters, Gertrude Christensen of Stanton, California, and Phyllis Jans and her husband, Wayne of Westside.

Services were held at 2 p.m. Friday, May 31, 1991, at the Zion Lutheran Church in Denison with Pastors Kurt Kaiser and Philip E. Bloch officiating the service and the grave side rites in the Garden of the Good Shepherd of the Crawford Heights Memory Gardens in Denison. Karen Kahl provided the organ accompaniment for a duet by Henry and Marge Henningsen singing "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" and "How Great Thou Art." The congregation sang "A Mighty Fortress is Our God." Honorary pallbearers were Milroy and Eleanor Henningsen, Alfred and Loretta Petersen, Harry and Nell Petersen, Vincent and Grace Keating, Virgil and Violet Boeck, Wilbur and Anna Harm, Irvin and Marlan Harm and Marie Keating. Pallbearers were Dale Christensen, Robert Schroeder, Berdell Jeschke, Willis Jaacks, Burdell Jaacks, Wayne Justice, Keith Justice, Lynn Justice, Roger Justice, Larry Miller, Arlan Jans and Curtis Jans. The Walter A. Huebner & Sons' Funeral Home of Denison was in charge of the arrangements.