Letter: Lessons learned from Vernon DeLoach
I first met Vernon DeLoach in 2002. I was interviewing with all of Port Royal Town Council members and the mayor for the town manager’s position. The interview lasted more than an hour, and Mr. Vernon spent 45 minutes telling me, much to the chagrin and amusement of the others, what was wrong with the town and how he aimed to fix it, with me or without me.
It was an impression that never changed. There were two certainties with Mr. Vernon: you were always going to get the unvarnished truth, and he loved the Town of Port Royal.
He and I spent the next 14 years, either in my office, in his shed, or walking the various rows of plantings in his garden discussing the town, family, and life in general. These were themes that were constant and revealed what was truly important to him.
The garden perfectly exemplified Mr. Vernon. It took hard work and dedication, and it allowed him to share both his knowledge and the bounty it produced. I cannot begin to count the number of bags of vegetables I carried home and either shared with my family or friends. We had a routine. We would pick vegetables, and we would sit on the back of his truck and discuss “business,” which often entailed a story about Parris Island or how his early life experiences had brought him to Port Royal. The stories were ones I had heard before in some shape or form, but I never tired of hearing them.
A few weeks back, I went to visit Mr. Vernon in the hospital in Columbia. Unfortunately, I was not able to see him, but I left him a note. I wrote that, once again, he had been right. The new port appraisal had come in, and the new value was almost exactly what he said it should be. It is disappointing that he will not get to see the property finally flourish.
For those of us who knew Mr. Vernon, we are certain of a couple of things. When he arrived at the Pearly Gates, he checked them out to make sure they were structurally sound, and if they needed repair, St. Peter had his man.
Van Willis
Port Royal
This story was originally published February 21, 2017 at 4:04 PM with the headline "Letter: Lessons learned from Vernon DeLoach."