Dr. J. Vern Hales, age 80, died at his home in Las Vegas, NV on 29 August 1997. He leaves a great legacy.
He is survived by Lucile Farnsworth Hales, his wife of 57 years, his seven children and their spouses: Susan H. and Roger Flick of Orem; Catherine H. and Jack Moyer, Downington, PA; Carolyn H. and Ted Roeth, Las Vegas, NV; Wayne Farnsworth and Jaada Hales, Orlando, FL; Charles Farnsworth and Marci Hales of Las Vegas, NV; Robert Farnsworth and Kathy Hales of Milford, Ohio; and Janice H. and Thomas Ward of Dallas, TX; 32 of his 34 grandchildren and his nine great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, Way and Isabel Hales, sister, Margaret Bown, his brothers, Dr. Richard Wayne Hales and Dr. Robert Hyrum Hales, and two granddaughters, Karen and Janet Moyer. He is survived by his brother, Dr. D. Wilson Hales of Ogden; and his sister, Isabel Hales Cannon of Salt Lake City.Dr. Hales was born July 21, 1917, in Provo, Utah, to Wayne Brockbank and Isabel Wilson Hales. He graduated from Brigham Young University with a B.A. degree in Mathematics and Physics. He also received his M.S. from Caltech, and a Ph.D. from UCLA. Dr. Hales was the first head of the Department of Meteorology at the University of Utah and had a long career as an Environmental Consultant in Utah and later in Pennsylvania. He founded Intermountain Weather in Salt Lake City, and Hales and Company in Pennsylvania. In Pennsylvania, he worked for several years for the General Electric Missile and Space Division in King of Prussia, working with some of the early weather satellites.
Dr. Hales was a member of several organiztions, including the Viking Social Unit at BYU, Phi Kappa Phi, Sigma Xi, AAAS and the American Meteorological Association. He was president of his local chapter of Kiwanis and of the Sons of the Utah Pioneers, and served as Chairman of the committee of the Sciences and the Arts of the prestigious Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Dr. Hales served in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II and was active in the Air Force Reserve, retiring as a Colonel.
He was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, serving as a guide on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah, a member of four high councils, a member of the stake presidency in Philadelphia, and served as a Patriarch until his death.
Funeral services were held September 2, 1997, in Las Vegas and the interment was at Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Boulder, NV. Dr. Hales expressed the desire that instead of flowers, donation be made to the Wayne B. Hales Scholarship fund, BYU Physics Dept., c/o Dorian Hatch, 270 FB, BYU, Provo, Ut.
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