Vernon Lee Titus

He leaves his sons, Mark (Jacque), Jeff (Krista), and his daughter, Kris Fagan (Tony); six grandchildren; four step-grandchildren, four step-great-grandchildren and several close friends.

Born and raised in Portland, OR on September 10, 1937, the son of Joel M. and Opal Marie (Young) Titus. After graduating from Ulysses S. Grant High School in 1955, he joined the US Army Reserves as a Military Policeman, serving just over two years, then enlisting in the US Air Force in 1957 as an Air Policeman, a trend that would continue later on in life. He was stationed at Manhattan Beach Air Force Station, NY where he met his wife, Ginny who was also in the US Air Force (who also outranked him). They went from NY to RAF Wethersfield, UK and then to Minot AFB, North Dakota where Mark, the first of their three children was born. While in Biloxi, MS for school to retrain into Heavy Ground Radar, he met some members of the US Coast Guard and decided then that when his enlistment was up, he to would go into the Coast Guard. He was then stationed at Mt. Hebo AFS, Oregon working on Early Warning Radar systems where he was discharged from the Air Force on August 4th, 1965 and joined the US Coast Guard on August 9th, 1965 to be an Aviation Technician 3rd Class (AT3). His next assignment was to CGAS Elizabeth City, NC where in December his second son, Jeff was born. His daughter Kris was born in NC in 1970. Between late 1965 and 1974, he served in New Orleans, LA and with the International Ice Patrol, and going to Mexico for relief efforts following the earthquake of 1970, as well as becoming a crew chief on HH-3 helicopters and an instructor at CGAS Elizabeth City, eventually making AT1. Upon attaining the rank of Chief Petty Officer (ATC, E-7) in 1974, he requested a transfer to CGAS Los Angeles, retiring from active duty in January of 1977, effectively serving 22 years 1 month and 11 days.

After serving with the Coast Guard, Mr. Titus did a variety of jobs, from Real Estate with Century 21 Realty to running a carpet cleaning and dyeing business. In 1978, he started began working for Eastman Kodak Company as a Field Service Technician installing and repairing color copiers and going to night classes at Pepperdine University graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management. As was his standard, he was one of the first in his class of techs to be offered a promotion to Service Manager. He was then promoted to Regional Service Manager, moving to Phoenix, AZ

In February of 1988. Ever interested in Law Enforcement from his early days in the military, Vern became a Maricopa County Sheriff Posse Member, MCSO Firearms Instructor for the Posse, and then a Reserve Deputy in 1990 eventually landing a position in the Tax Lien office, leaving that job in 2010.

He was a member of the USCG CPO Association. An avid shooter, he was a longtime member of the Single Action Shooting Society (SASS) and a short term member of the Dusty Bunch.

An internment service will be held November 29th at Phoenix Veterans Memorial Cemetery for both Vern and his wife Ginny, who passed away December 19, 2018.