Vernon Portsche, 92, of Boise, died Wednesday, December 17, 2014 at a local care facility. Vern was born in Kramer, Nebraska on May 31, 1922. His family lived in Nebraska until 1932, when they moved to Salt Lake City. After graduating from High School, Vern worked as a welder in a machine shop. He joined the U.S. Navy during World War II, serving as a Gunner's Mate on two ships. His first ship, the USS Meredith, was sunk during the invasion of Normandy. He married Gretchen Roeser in 1948 at St. John's Lutheran Church in Salt Lake City. He worked for Addressograph Multigraph for many years. In 1959, he moved his family to Boise, Idaho. He continued to work for Addressograph, then later, he worked as a salesman for Gem Electric and Fisher's Office Supply. He and Gretchen were active members of St. Paul's and Good Shepherd Lutheran Churches. They had two daughters, Karen Vogler Beck (Harvey) and Cathy Worcester (Richard); four grandchildren, Phil Vogler, Shaun Vogler (Dawn), Benjamin Worcester and Elizabeth Bacon (Dan); four great grandchildren, Cody (Amanda) and Kailey Vogler, and Amy and Michaela Vogler and one great-great grandchild on the way.

The family would like to thank the staff at Overland Court and Legacy Hospice.
A viewing will be held at the Alden-Waggoner Funeral Chapel on Sunday, December 21 from 10:30 a.m. to noon. A memorial will follow at the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church at 2:00 p.m. A committal service with military honors will be held on Monday, December 22 at 2:00 p.m. at the Idaho State Veterans Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Good Shepard Lutheran Church or the Alzheimer’s Research Foundation.