Third generation butcher John Vernon has died aged 82, passing away at the end of 2016.
John was part of the meat industry from a young age. From pottering about in his family’s shop after school and on weekends, John began full time at J T Vernon & Sons at the age of 16 after finishing boarding school.
Following his father’s death John took over the family business and re-opened the abattoir in 1956. Buying live and slaughtering provided the high-quality meat upon which the Vernon family business was able to expand to offer three fixed site and five mobile retail shops in rural Cheshire.
As the region became more affluent, John closed the mobile shops, as well as the abattoir in 1994. This allowed him to invest more in the retail side of the business, buying premises opposite his main shop in Holt and opening a fresh food hall in 1996.
John's achievements with J T Vernon & Sons were recognised through numerous awards, such as the Meat & Poultry News Independent Meat Retailer of the Year Award in 2003 as well as several Q Guild awards.
John was a member of the National Federation of Meat and Food Traders since 1953 and became president of the Chester Association four times and president of the Cheshire Council three times. In 1982 he joined the executive council and was made national president in 1994 before later becoming treasurer.
As well as this John was a liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Butchers, a member of the Q Guild and was active in the Institute of Meat as chairman of the north-west branch in 1976 and a moderator for five years.
Donations and messages of condolence should be sent to:
Mrs A Vernonc/o Jackie WilsonIndependent Funeral Services, Hill View, High Street, Tarporley, CW6 0EG
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.
