Samaritan Healthcare | The Samaritan | Summer 2019

SUMMER 2019 | 7 After his long battle with cancer, we regretfully announce the passing of Dr. Daren Vernon, who served our community for more than 20 years as a podiatrist at Samaritan Healthcare. Dr. Vernon graduated from Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He gained additional surgical training while performing his residency at the Houston Podiatric Foundation, where he cared for a wide variety of cases from the ankle down. He also graduated from Brigham Young University and attended Ricks College in Idaho. He was on the board of the Washington State Podiatric Medical Association, was board certified with the American Board of Podiatric Surgery, and he specialized in foot and ankle trauma and surgery, as well as diabetic foot care. His goal was always to have patients leave the office feeling better than when they entered. Dr. Vernon was born at Samaritan Hospital in Moses Lake and he grew up in the area. After he completed his podiatry training, Moses Lake was his first choice to live, practice, and raise his family. He enjoyed softball and bowling, and he was also active in civic activities and theater. Many enjoyed his passion for acting in area plays—he worked on many musicals and held starring roles in several, such as his recent role of Henry Higgins, the male lead in “My Fair Lady.” He helped to start Basin Community Theater and he contributed to it by directing, acting, singing and dancing, as well as set design. His bio contains a story that reveals his sense of humor: When he was a young boy, his parents were driving past Samaritan Hospital and told him that was where he was born. He replied, “Let’s go in and show them how big I am.” Well into his adulthood, his parents still asked him if he wanted to go in and show them how big he was. He would answer, “No, Mom, believe me, they know.” Daren Vernon will be greatly missed by his family and friends, colleagues and patients alike. Remembering Dr. Daren Vernon. 1966–2019