Vernon McClure

Vernon R. McClure, Jr., age 73 of Wanaque, NJ, died on Saturday, July 16, 2022.

Vernon had been a Senior Computer Programmer with Dial America in Mahwah. He enjoyed a career of thirty-six years there before retiring in 2016. He had a mind for problem solving and strategy that suited his career perfectly.

Vernon grew up in Haskell, the second eldest of six children. When he was thirteen years old, his parents moved the family to Butler and Vernon missed his buddies so much that he would ride his bike all the way back to Haskell just to visit them and go to St. Francis school to finish 8th grade. He went on to graduate from Butler High School in 1967, where he had been a hurdler on the track team. His hurdling technique was uniquely his own and earned him the nickname “crazy-legs.” He had a competitive side to his personality that seemed to contradict with his otherwise calm and quiet persona. If you ever played volleyball or ping pong with him, you likely experienced his intense focus firsthand. Vernon was also passionate about playing unique, strategic board games with a few local groups of enthusiasts. Prior to the Pandemic, he was traveling three days a week to play in Summit, Bridgewater, and Scotch Plains, often with many of the same people. These were not your typical board games, but specialized games that were usually from European countries. Vernon was always prepared wherever he went and traveled with board games in his car. He just loved to play games. He also enjoyed being a prankster and you never quite knew when he was pulling your leg. His deadpan delivery could fool anyone until you noticed the subtle smirk on his face. Vernon had a bit of a sweet tooth and he knew just about every bakery along the eastern seaboard, with Villabate Alba in Brooklyn among his most favorite. Whenever Vern had cookies in the house, he would tell his children that they were “diet cookies,” so they wouldn’t eat them! He kept his stash on top of the refrigerator, safely out of the kid’s reach.

Vernon met his wife, Patricia McLean, at St. Mary’s church in Pompton Lakes. They had both been attending the church’s “young adults” volleyball games and they hit it off. Their first date included dinner at Taco Maker in Wayne, and they quickly hit it off. Vernon proposed on Valentine’s Day at Emerson’s Restaurant, and they were married on June 13, 1981, at St. Gerard’s Church in Paterson. Since their honeymoon in the Poconos, they’ve enjoyed forty-one years of a loving and devoted marriage, filled with “more fun than anything.” They lovingly raised four children together, and Vernon was particularly thrilled to be a grandpa. He was devoted to his grandchildren, loved teaching them to play games and simply spending time with them brought him more joy than he could have imagined. He was surely blessed, and they will all miss him dearly.

Vernon is survived by his beloved wife Patricia of Wanaque, his four children; Gregory and his wife Jill of Oak Ridge, Glenn and his fiancé Kerri of Wayne, Caitlyn Batche and her husband Ryan of Burlington, VT, and Thomas of Wanaque, nine grandchildren: Madison, Chase, Noah, Paisley, Alexis, Luna, Archer, Layla, and Oliver, five siblings: Marianne Kunz and her husband Larry of Murrels Inlet, SC, Martin McClure and his wife Joann of Wilmington, DE, Rex McClure and his wife Paula of Stuarts Draft, VA, Chris McClure and his wife Dina of Pompton Plains, and Brenda Arnowitz and her husband Mark of Warwick, NY, and many nieces, nephews, cousins and dear friends.

In lieu of flowers, donations would be appreciated toward Vernon’s Catholic funeral and burial costs. A GoFundMe has been set up here.