James V. "Vern" Reynolds

James V. "Vern" Reynolds, 85, of Fort Wayne, passed away on Tuesday February 10th 2014. Vern was General Manager of Lakeside Golf Club for 35 years. By his side were his son Robin Reynolds of Houston TX and Daughter Tina (Gary) Dancer of Fort Wayne. Vern shared his love of life with three grandchildren Lisa (Matt) Milholland, Megan (Christopher) Hoff and Erik (Shannon Wright) Swartz and 3 great-grand children. Surviving are two sisters Vera Koch of Fort Wayne and Sherry (Bill) Juarez of Chandler, Ariz. along with a niece and nephews. He was preceded in death by his ex-wife and life long friend Barbara Reynolds. Funeral services will be held on Wednesday February 19, at 1:00 with calling from10:00 to 1:00 prior to our celebration of his life at Greenlawn Funeral Home at 6750 Covington Rd. Mausoleum internment in Greenlawn Memorial Park. Family and friends celebration to follow. Memorials to the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network www.bcan.org.

Our father was a great lover of life. His passions were baseball, golf, women, his family, cars, good food, enjoying the sunshine on the beach or in his back yard and at one time an afternoon cocktail: they are not necessarily in that order. Vern loved baseball and followed his dream to become a baseball umpire in 1962. We returned to Fort Wayne when he realized being an umpire was not his calling. Vern has been a member of The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum for 30 years supporting the mission to preserve history, honor excellence and connect generations of baseball players. He was an encyclopedia of knowledge about baseball.

Vern joined Lakeside Golf Club and Bowling after returning to Fort Wayne, starting out as a greens keeper and soon became assistant manager. Vern retired at the age of 70 as General Manager of the Golf Course. While working at Lakeside he gained many friendships. He continued to work part time summers at the golf course up until last year. I had the pleasure of working alongside my dad at lakeside for a couple of years in the snack bar and the “Out of Bounds” Cocktail Lounge. This time was the beginning of a closer relationship with my father. I saw how much he loved the work, people and way of life.

Vern really enjoyed his time off by making a mad dash to the Fort Myers Beach area of Florida for a much deserved vacation every year. Quite often he would take a side trip and visit Robin in Houston, and boy did these two men have a great time. When in Florida he would continue to meet with friends, renew last year’s acquaintances but mostly hit the beach, tiki huts and enjoy seafood.

I have often met a friend, golf buddy, waitress, insurance carrier, financial manager; neighbor, doctor or recently Funeral Director who remembered my father very fondly and for some reason remarked he was a “real character” who was funny. He was always flirting with women and enjoying their company.

I need for all of you who have experienced my father at some point in your life to know how special you were to him. He would quite often tell me about how you affected his life that day or he would share a story about you.

Dad was a bladder cancer survivor. He went through radiation and chemo therapy in 2007 and 2008. He finally licked the cancer. Dad very much appreciated all of your prayers, support, meals, transportation and sharing with him your survival stories.

My father has wanted to purchase a newer car for at least 8 years. We would go look, test drive, talk about it and he would change his mind. Some of you know he finally made the big move and purchased a 2005 Lincoln last month. He drove that beautiful car home, put it in the garage and drove his old car until he could sell it. I bring this up because people have asked me which car he was driving when he had the accident. He was driving the old car and never got a chance to drive the new one. But you must know how happy he was to get the newer Lincoln.

Dad lived a long life with a lot of gusto. There are too many stories to tell here but please feel free to share some stories with us. The one I want to know is how or who gave him the nick name “Vern Baby”. I love his custom golf balls with “Vern Baby” on the side.

Love to all of you for being special to my dad.

Tina Dancer and Family

At the end of life, what really matters

Is not what we bought, but what we built;

Not what we got, but what we shared;

Not our competence, but our character;

Not our success, but our significance.

Live a life that matters.

Live a life of love.

Unknown author

Arrangements under the direction of Greenlawn Funeral Home, Fort Wayne, Indiana.