Vernon Gaines

Vernon was the youngest child born to Vernon and Amy Gaines. He was the “little brother” his sister Angie always wanted. Not! She had no choice. Archie Hill, his big brother, was a teenager and soon moved away from home; and Vernona, his oldest sister, took a pass on sisterly duties; she was pretty much a grown woman when Vernon came along. So, that left Angie who ended up being his ride or die partner in crime. Rabbit, a nickname given by his grandfather, Arthur Mitchell Cobb, who gave all his grands special handles, was born at the venerable Homer G. Phillips Hospital. He attended another St. Louis historical institution, Beaumont “Blue Jackets” High School. In his junior/senior year, he was a co-op student and studied welding, which aligned with his philosophy to have a trade so that he could immediately make his own money after graduating in 1974. He enjoyed putting things together and fixing stuff, just to see how it worked. However, he soon got tired of getting welding burns and joined the then-Union Electric family, (Ameren Corporation) and had an interesting career there until he retired in 2014. During his 30-plus years at Ameren, he made friends with everybody. He was the shop steward, and a store clerk, responsible for ordering supplies and shipping and receiving coordination. If you wanted things done right, you could look to Vern to get it done correctly. He was a “union man” from the heart. That commitment led to memberships with IBEW Local 1439 and the Electrical Workers Minority Caucus of St Louis, Mo. Vernon loved music, particularly jazz. He attended lots of concerts and traveled extensively to listen to good music. “The School Yard Gang” fellows were his heart as well. The “gang” primarily grew up on Palm Street, attended Beaumont together, and continued a ritual of meeting up on the schoolyard, hosting family gatherings, vacations together, and much more until his death. His favorite phrase particularly for his grands was, “I got mine, you still got to get yours!” He believed that you make your own happiness. He will be best remembered for his easy laugh and smile, honesty, and words of advice and wisdom. His heart was big and open. He especially loved being one of the mentors with the St Paul Saturdays, the church’s manhood development program. He worked tirelessly in many capacities at the church and was named Man of the Year in 2014. In 1988 he married the love of his life, Adrienne, and became not only her “one and only,” but Frank “Tony,” Adrienne “Cissy” and Nathan’s new dad. He was grandpa to Jordan, Aleyce, Deloyne, N’Dia, and Kimberly. He took his responsibility of being “head of the house” very seriously and loved his family furiously. Vernon’s sister Vernona Smith and brother Archie (Ida) Hill will miss him, but they know that his parents, his sister Angela Evans, and Grandparents, Arthur, and Ollie Cobb have greeted him with open arms in the Lord. His many friends, former coworkers, church family, cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews will feel a void, but we know “love never dies.”

Vernon Gaines

June 30, 1956 - December 2, 2019