Geoffrey & Judith Vernon

Geoffrey and Judith Vernon, both 59, of Clyde Hill

Geoffrey Vernon, former president of the UW Alumni Association, and Judith Vernon, retired office manager for the family's publishing business, were high-school sweethearts who married after growing up in Ballard.

When they were 18 or 19 and dining in a restaurant, an older couple saw they were in love and paid the tab. The Vernons had since returned the favor to younger couples around Seattle and during a recent vacation in Maui.

For four decades, they were a team.

''She was very assertive, on the side with Geoffrey, not behind him,'' said sister-in-law Valerie Vernon. ''They were very much a duo.''

As a boy, Geoffrey Vernon cheered with his dad at every Husky game and became a UW booster himself, heading the alumni association in 1999-2001.

His father founded a publishing company in 1959 that grew to an empire of 40 trade magazines, and Vernon took over in 1985, retiring three years ago.

A 1965 education graduate of the UW, he also served on the boards of Seattle University, Seafair, the Hope Heart Institute and the local chapter of the American Red Cross.

Both Vernons were gregarious. When they walked their basset hound, Bob, they would invariably cross the street and chat whenever they saw another dog owner.

Relatives said Judith Vernon could walk across the room at a party and come back 10 minutes later with a story about each new acquaintance.

In the early 1960s, she quit the UW to work in customer service for the Bell telephone system, helping her husband finish school.

For years she was the office manager for the family publishing business, and also worked with her husband on UW business and Seafair.

She was an excellent cook who trained in Italy and locally, making lemon meringue pie for parties and chili for neighbors. A nearly finished dream home on Meydenbauer Bay is equipped with a large kitchen.

A few years ago she took up golf to spend more time with her husband.

''Even though they worked together during the day and slept together during the night, they were looking for ways to spend more time together,'' said son Trevor Vernon, 31, of Seattle. ''It was a love affair.''

The Vernons are also survived by another son, Gregory Vernon, 33, also of Seattle.

--Mike Lindblom