Vernon Lee Barksdale

Vernon Lee Barksdale died in Peoria on August 12, 2026. He was 78. Born on March 19, 1948, with African American roots that shaped the table more than the flag. He learned early that a day is something you finish, not something you wait for. He cut metal to tolerances that looked like faith. Blueprints lived under plexiglass; apprentices learned that a good fit is honesty. Colleagues still mention calipers that still held factory dust. He married Cheryl in 1970. They kept a house that stayed modest when the neighborhood did not. They raised two sons through public schools and ordinary weather. After Cheryl died in 2019, he kept the routines that still made sense: the walk, the garden, the Sunday call. Neighbors remember quiet help with a stuck mailbox or a heavy trash can. He liked early mornings before the heat or the noise. He died in Peoria, among streets he never needed to explain. The recipe card is still stained in the useful places.