Lynn C. “Cam” Vermillion, 87, of Spokane, Wash., a former Baker City resident, died Sept. 19, 2001, at his home.
There will be a graveside service Monday at 9:30 a.m. at Mount Hope Cemetery. His remains will be interred next to the grave site of his wife, Jackie. There was an open house memorial service at his home in Spokane on Sept. 23.
Mr. Vermillion was born and raised in Baker City. He was the son of Lynn V. and Grace Vermillion. His father was a former Baker stationmaster for Union Pacific Railroad.
During the 1930s, Mr. Vermillion was a lifeguard at the Baker Natatorium and at Radium Hot Springs near Haines. He played drums in a popular dance band called “The Four A’s,” and even engaged in professional wrestling.
He married Jackie Head (also of Baker City) in July 1942. Mr. Vermillion had a 23-year career in the U.S. Air Force, serving in Florida, Germany, California, England, Louisiana, Arkansas and retiring at Fairchild Air Force Base in Washington as a lieutenant colonel.
He worked mostly as a military police officer. After his military career, Mr. Vermillion worked as a special services manager at the Crescent Department Store in Spokane.
Mr. Vermillion was an avid skier, tennis player, drummer for jazz bands, and hunter. He loved to shoot squirrels on the farms and ranches in the Baker City area. He was well liked for his ready humor and wit.
Survivors include his brother, Bill, of Espanola, N.M.; a daughter, Susan, and her two children, Michelle and Matthew McCracken; and a son and daughter-in-law, Douglas and Mickey, and their five children, Michael, Christopher, Rachel, Jonathan and Emily.
Used with permission from: The Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, October 7, 2001
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor