James “Vernon” Kemp was born July 15, 1948 in Beaver Oklahoma to James and Zata (Cook) Kemp. He was welcomed home to the family farm just east of Darrouzett by his three big sisters, Arlena, Lillie, and Wanda. A year later, they welcomed their baby brother Donald. While life wasn’t always easy on the farm, the family was full of love. Some of Vernon’s favorite memories were made in the fields and pastures helping his dad. Their neighbors, the Frass family, had a TV, and they would all go to watch The Lawrence Welk Show. Vernon recalled going to Borger with his parents when he was about 16 and purchasing their very first used TV. Vernon attended Darrouzett School from 1st grade until he graduated in 1966. He attended West Texas State University for 3 semesters before returning home to take care of the farm and his mom after his dad died in 1968.

The following summer, Vernon got a job as a hired hand with R.D. Meier to go on the harvest run. He spent every summer after that until 2024 custom harvesting crops. For the majority of his career, he started in Olney, TX and made stops in Erick, OK, Darrouzett, Oberlin, KS, Cheyenne Wells, CO, and Philip, SD. For many years, he spent the late summer and early fall in Gruver and Dalhart chopping corn silage. In his later years, he began cutting corn and picking up millet in South Dakota and would sometimes be up there until Thanksgiving or later. He got snowed in up there more than once! All along the Plains, Vernon made many life-long friends. However, his favorite home away from home was in South Dakota. He made his last trip to Philip in the summer of 2025 where he helped his long-time friend, Mark Hanrahan, and Mark’s son harvest the wheat crop. There was no place Vernon felt more comfortable than on a combine. During the winter months, Vernon spent time visiting with his life-long friends in Darrouzett and solving all the world’s problems over a cup of coffee at the Irrigation Shop or The Farm Bureau. He also spent lots of time with his sister and best friend, Wanda.

Vernon was so proud of his daughters, Cathy Harvey and Lori Conklin. He was such a good daddy. He never raised his hand or his voice, but the girls knew when he was disappointed in them. He supported them in every way possible. He always sat at the kitchen table and reviewed spelling words or patiently retaught them how to do those seemingly impossible algebra assignments. He helped them raise and show pigs every year for the Lipscomb County Livestock Show, and he made sure the girls got their hands dirty by cleaning the pen and washing the pigs. He also made sure they had the snazziest get-ups for show day. Surely he thought those neon green and cow print Rockies were ridiculous, but he bought them anyway because the girls wanted them. When it came time for each of the girls to leave the nest, the question was never “Are you going to college?” Instead, it was “WHERE are you going to college?” He always wanted to see them reach their full potential. The girls frequently asked for his advice and even now they say “What would Vernon do?” He was really the wisest man in their lives. Although he had plenty of opportunity to do so, he never said I told you so when they messed up, but he did help whenever they needed it.

The best gift the girls gave him was his four grandsons, Chandler, Rylee, Parker, and Jaxon. Those boys could do no wrong with their grandpa. They loved to ride the combine and drive out to the farm to look at the cattle and the oil wells. Grandpa taught them to play dominoes and poker. He was supportive of the boys’ activities like helping Jaxon raise and show his pigs and cheering them on at sporting events and scouting events, including his favorite, the pinewood derby. Most of all, he showed them how to be good men.

And now, we leave you with some of the many words of wisdom from our Daddy and Grandpa like “Never back up when you can go forward”, “You gotta wave at people when you’re driving, or they’ll think you’re an oilfield guy”, “Listen to your mom and do what she says”, “Turn down that (ahem) darn radio”, “Watch for deer”. When asked if he wanted to see the ocean, he responded, “Why would I want to do that? I never lost anything there.” He gave directions like "turn north at the tank battery about a mile up the road and you’ll go about another mile after the jigger in the road.” “Yep, yep” were his standard words of agreement. And when no words were sufficient, there was always the smacking of his lips and shaking of his head.

Vernon departed this world on June 28, 2026 after a lengthy battle with Grade 4 Glioblastoma. He is preceded in death by his parents, James and Zata Kemp, his sister Lillie Johnson, his brothers-in-law J.R. Harris, Dene Johnson, Lenney Hickman, and sister-in-law Marilyn Kemp.

He is survived by his daughters, Cathy Harvey and Lori Conklin, his sisters, Arlena Hickman and Wanda Harris and brother Donald Kemp, his grandsons Chandler Williams and daughter Holly, Rylee Williams and wife Katelynn and daughters Oakley and Emma, Parker Williams, and Jaxon Harvey, as well as many nieces and nephews, cousins and other extended family and friends all across the plains.

Those wishing to honor him with a memorial may donate to The Glioblastoma Foundation at www.glioblastomafoundation.org or mail to P.O. Box 62066, Durham, NC 27715. Memorials may also be made to the Darrouzett or Follett Livestock Boosters.