Vernon Royal Dondanville and his twin brother Vinton Loyal were born in Sheridan, Illinois on April 16, 1979, the third and fourth children of Louis Dondanville and Janette May Beardsley. Affectionately referred to by his parents as Vernie, he grew up in Sheridan and attended the local schools.

About 1900 Vernon moved to Guthrie, Oklahoma where he worked as a railway engineer. In 1904 he married Lucille Stevens a native of Washington, Missouri who was living in Enid, Oklahoma.They established their home in Enid and their only child, Russell Vernon , was born there , December 4, 1906.

In 1909 Vernon's health began to fail. He returned to Sheridan, Illinois with his family and was admitted to Saint Charles Hospital in Aurora where his illness was diagnosed as Hodgkin disease. He was transferred to St. Joseph's Hospital in Chicago and eventually returned to Sheridan where he died on January 1, 1910. He was buried Sheridan Cemetery.

Lucille returned with her son to Enid where she eventually married Nathan Razey, a local merchant. They moved first to Denver and then to Boulder where Russell attended the University of Colorado. Lucille and Nathan Razey eventually retired to San Jose, California. Both are believed to have died there in the late 1940s.

153.1 Russell Vernon , 1906 -1991 ; married in Denver, Colorado, August 19, 1931 to Eleanor B. Custance of Denver ; two daughters , Jeanne Adele , '36 ; and Dorothy Custance , '40.

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