Vernon Phillip Deines, 1929-2010
His family provided some of the following information.
He was born July 28, 1929, in rural Ness County, Kansas, the son of David E. Deines and Vera Mae Coates-Deines-Hodge. He was a resident of Manhattan since 1957.
Vernon attended grade school and middle schools in Highland, Kansas; Melvern and Solon, Iowa; Manhattan and Iola, Kansas; Sacramento, Victorville, Riverside and San Bernardino, California; Alvin and El Paso, Texas; and Nashville, Tennessee.
He graduated with an associate of arts and liberal arts from St John’s Lutheran College in 1949. He also earned his bachelor’s in architectural engineering from Kansas State College in 1952. In 1962 he received a master’s in regional and community planning from Kansas State University. Vernon received his Ph.D. in urban affairs, higher education and public administration from the University of Pittsburgh in 1977. Also he completed numerous certificate courses in computer graphics, rural development policy and urban development models.
After leaving home at the age of 14, Vernon worked summers and during his high school and college years as a gardener, theatre usher, floral designers, farm laborer, construction worker, tool and dye designer, warehouseman, salad chef and night club bouncer.
After graduation from college, he was employed as a structural engineer with McDowell Aircraft Company and weapons design and development engineer with the U.S. Department of Defense. He worked 40 years as an instructor to professor in architecture, mechanical engineering and regional planning at K-State. He retired in 1997 from Kansas State University. Vernon was a member and officer in various professional and academic organizations. He was the founding member of the American Planning Association and the American Institute of Certified Planners.
Some of Vernon’s achievements from his career include: he directed the redevelopment study and plan for converting St. John’s College into the Winfield Civic Complex (9 major buildings on a 19-acre campus); he served as president for the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning from 1971 until 1973 and led the transformation from an annual business meeting of administrators into an expanded faculty and student annual conference on education and research.
Vernon chaired the ACSP School Review process from 1975-1976, that formed the basis for planning school accreditation by the APA/ACSP in 1980. He administered the graduate planning program at K-State from 1966-1985 and developed the curriculum that is recognized nationally for a focus on professional practice in small city and regional agencies. He directed the preparation of a series of urbanization and planning monographs for training of local officials, staff and citizens with funding from Title I, Higher Education Act of 1965, and coordinated short courses in 90 of 105 Kansas counties from 1966-1976.
Vernon conducted studies of regional planning commissions in Kansas for the state planning office with funding from Housing and Urban Development from 1975-1976, and surveys of planning and zoning in Kansas counties with the League of Municipalities, Kansas Association of Counties and Kansas Chapter APA in 1984, 1990 and 1996. He completed a comparative study of planning education at eight universities in England and West Germany with a focus on examination, registration or certification for professional planning practice from 1975-1976. Vernon assisted in the formation of the APA Kansas Chapter in 1974 and served as professional development officer for 14 years and AICP/APA faculty liaison for 13 years.
Mr. Deines earned many awards over his career. He received the APA Award for Excellence and Outstanding Contributions to Small Town and Rural Planning in 1996. This recognition by his colleagues for three decades of effort to rural America was very rewarding to Vernon. The award of APA Kansas Chapter for Outstanding Service, Leadership and Commitment to the Planning Profession in 1997 was also one that Vernon was very proud of. He received a KSU Honors Award In Recognition of Leadership, Teaching, Research, Outreach and Service for his service from 1957-1997. The K-State College of Architecture, Planning and Design also presented Vernon with a Distinguished Service Award in 2008.
Vernon held the office of APA Division of Small Town and Rural Planning and was Co-Founder and Director from 1980-1984. This division established a national network for small town and rural planners in North America for annual conference proceedings, quarterly newsletters and national rural development policy.
Some publications Vernon had during his career include “Local Planning Guide for Wetlands and Riparian Areas in Kansas,” with K. Brooks, Kansas Water Office and EPA, 1993. This publication was distributed for use in all 105 counties of Kansas and provides a bridge between local government planning and private property owners. “Planning and Development of Small Towns and Rural Areas in the United States,” Planning for the Disadvantaged, Commonwealth Association of Planners and Federal Department of Town and Country Planning (Malaysia), 1990 pp 133-138. The article and presentation on the status of small town and rural area planning in the United States at this international conference of planners provided an excellent opportunity of the exchange of issues and processes for planning and development. “Risk Assessment/Vulnerability Users Manual for Small Communities and Rural Areas,” with Russell, et al., Kansas State University and U.S. Department of Transportation, March 1986. This technical report on hazard assessment was distributed nationally to state and local governments and was cited in a Planning article (February 1988, page 23) about hazardous waste management.
Vernon married Doris Marie Dishman on January 1, 1955, in Kingsville, Maryland. After two years in Aberdeen, Maryland, they moved to Manhattan in 1957. Four children were born: Debra on January 25, 1956; Sharon on July 18, 1958; Carol on July 15, 1959; and Erich on December 22, 1968. Nine grandchildren include Maryam Bejanpour, Ray Bejanpour, Sarah Bejanpour, Leyla Bejanpour, Tina Marie Deines, Galen Deines, Bryanna Deines, Maura Deines and Ryhan Patton. Other relatives include a son-in-law, Doug Patton, a daughter-in-law, Tina Lynn Deines, a brother Duane Deines, a sister-in-law Brenda Mendoza, a brother-in-law Joe Mendoza, a brother-in-law Johnny Dishman, a brother-in-law Darrell Burnett, and many nieces and nephews.
Doris preceded Vernon in death on July 29, 2001. Merle, a brother, died in 1955 and Vera June, a sister, died in 1999. His mother, Vera Mae, died in 1996, and his father, David, died in 1999.
Funeral services for Mr. Deines will be held on Saturday, April 10, 2010, at 10 a.m. at the St. Luke’s Lutheran Church, 330 Sunset Avenue in Manhattan. Interment will follow in the Sunrise Cemetery in Manhattan.
The family of Mr. Deines will greet friends during a visitation on Friday, April 9, 2010, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Yorgensen-Meloan-Londeen Funeral Home.
On-line condolences may be left for the family through the funeral home website at www.ymlfuneralhome.com.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Kansas State University Foundation and may be left in care of the Yorgensen-Meloan-Londeen Funeral Home, 1616 Poyntz Avenue, Manhattan, KS 66502.