Vernon French Jr. ... former pastor of Rochester church

ROCHESTER - Vernon C. French, Jr., was born in Manchester on May 24, 1927, to Vernon C., Sr., and Gladys M. LaCoss French. He died Monday, March 20, 2017.
As a child, he lived in Londonderry, N.H., now location of the Manchester Airport. He graduated from Goff Falls Grammar School on June 21, 1940, from Manchester Central High School June 12, 1944, from Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn., June 13, 1948, and from Boston University School of Theology June 15, 1952.
Vernon was ordained as Elder/Pastor in the United Methodist Church on June 1, 1952 at a session of the New Hampshire Conference of the United Methodist Church. He spent 16 years serving churches in the conference. The churches were Henniker, Franklin, Tilton-Northfield, Rochester, and Concord. Vernon moved to the Buffalo, N.Y., area and spent 25 years in the Western New York Conference. He served churches in East Aurora, Akron and Amherst and also served as Superintendent of the Jamestown District and Conference Executive.
Vernon was married to Barbara Jean Craig on August 21, 1948. She supported and assisted Vernon in the various church appointments. Vernon and Barbara had five children: Craig, Keven, Kenneth, Carol Ducommun, and Karen Rastenis. They became grandparents of 13 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Barbara preceded Vernon in death on March 29, 2000.
Vernon was remarried on December 11, 2004 to Jeanne Clark. Jeanne was a member of the Rochester Church when Vernon was the Pastor there. As a result of the marriage Jeanne's three children, Dana, Jeanann Harmon, and Daniel were added to Vernon's long list of children along with four grandchildren.
Vernon enjoyed leading a congregation in worship and preaching. He found great satisfaction in ministering to all ages, especially youth. He enjoyed leading youth on overnight retreats and taking them on trips to our Nation's Capital and to New York City and the United Nations. He firmly believed giving youth an opportunity to witness the two governing bodies of our Nation's Capital and observing how the United Nations functioned would help the youth become better citizens of our Nation.
His favorite leisurely activity was working in flower gardens and vegetable gardens. Watching flowers blossoming and vegetables maturing gave him great satisfaction and a deeper appreciation for God's creativity.