Laverne Johnson

Laverne S. Johnson KANE Laverne S. "Vern" Johnson, 91, of 7 S. Tionesta Avenue, passed away Sunday (September 24, 2017) at UPMC Kane. Born May 10, 1926, in Wilcox, he was a son of the late Hjelmer and Olga Johnson. On September 16, 1950, in Wilcox, he married Phyllis Halquist who preceded him in death. Mr. Johnson was the Superintendent of Kane Area School District for many years. Prior to that he was the high school principal and before that the junior high school principal. Prior to those positions, he was a history teacher. He attended Wilcox High School and left early to go to specialized training at Virginia Military Institute. Following training he entered the Army and served in Europe during World War II. Upon returning, he did his undergraduate studies at the University of Pittsburgh and received his Master's Degree from Penn State. Vern had coached football, basketball and track throughout his tenure in the Kane Area School District. He was one of the first inductees into the Kane Sports' Boosters Hall of Fame. He created the Vo-Ag Program at Kane High School and the Vo-Ag building is named in his honor. Earlier in his career, he worked as an administrator at Twin Lakes during the summer. He was a member of Tabor Evangelical Lutheran and the Kane Rotary Club where he was a Paul Harris Fellow. He and his wife Phyllis were honored as Kane's co-citizens of the year. Surviving are two daughters, Kimberley (Timothy) Eberlein of St. Louis, MO and Susan Budd of San Diego, CA; two sons, Barry (Carlene Novosel) Johnson of Kane and Bill (Sally) Johnson of Knoxville, TN; four granddaughters, Crystal (Mike) Kocjancic of Kane, Hannah (Ryan) Ong of Beltsville, MD, Emlyn (Dan Ketter) Johnson of Rochester, NY, Cassidy (Doug) Mennen of Montgomery, AL; three grandsons, Craig (Susan Creary) Novosel-Johnson of Columbus, OH, Royce (Katie) Novosel-Johnson of Kane and Justin Eberlein of Houston, TX; and three great-grandchildren. In addition to his wife and parents, he was preceded in death by a brother Arthur Johnson. Friends will be received Friday from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm at the Cummings Funeral Home, inc. A funeral service will be held Saturday at 11:00 am at Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church with the Rev. David Pflieger, officiating. Burial will be in Mt. Tabor Cemetery. Memorial donations, if desired, may be made to the Kane Area High School Alumni Memorial Award Fund in care of Cummings Funeral Home, Inc., 151 Greeves St., Kane, PA 16735 or send to PO Box 546, Kane, PA 16735. Online condolences can be expressed at www.cummingsfh.comt.