Vernon Bizer, 86, log truck driver, died Tuesday, October 16, 2012, at Hospice House in Tacoma following a brief illness. Vern was born to Clarence and Pearl Bizer of Ferndale, Wash., where he became a member of the Lummi Indian Tribe. He was raised on his grandparent’s dairy farm in Ferndale. As a young boy, he not only helped his grandfather milk cows, shear sheep and run the farm, but he went fishing and duck hunting with his cousin. He attended church and church picnics with his grandparents and two sisters, where he enjoyed great home cooking, as well as boxing lessons from the local Irish priest, Father Patrick.
After high school, Vern traveled to Chicago to attend diesel mechanic school. It was in Chicago that his life-long passion of baseball would begin and where he attended games at Wrigley Field. The beginning of his love of jazz and dancing most likely arose in Chicago watching live performances of Benny Goodman and Louis Armstrong.