Vernon Leonard Gonsalves went to be with his Savior, Jesus Christ, on January 17, 2022, after battling prostate cancer for six years.  He was 93 years old.

Vernon was the first of six children born to Leonard and Emma Gonsalves, born on September 10, 1928.  He was a proud life-long resident of Fowler, CA.

After graduating from Fowler High School in 1947, Vernon joined the U.S. Navy.  He served three years on the U.S.S. Saint Paul, a heavy cruiser.

After his three years, he was offered the option to stay in the Navy for one more year or get out early.  Because he wanted to marry his long-time sweetheart, Marie Gil, he chose to get out now!  He was blessed that he never saw any war action.  He enlisted after WWII and was discharged right before the Korean Conflict.

Vernon had met and gotten to know Marie Gil as they grew up in Fowler schools.  From the time they were in middle school, they were inseparable.  Vernon and his siblings were playmates and friends with Marie and her siblings, so even in the summertime, they hung out together.

So, after he was discharged from the Navy in 1950, Vernon married Marie at the Presbyterian Church in Fowler on June 6, 1950.  They went on to form a family of four when daughter, Lynn, was born in 1952 and son, Danny, was born in 1955.

The family lived on a twenty-acre farm where Vernon remodeled the old farm house on the property.  He grew cotton for a short time, as well as Alberta Peach trees.  In the end though, he put in grape vines and sold the raisins to Sunmaid Raisin Company.

Besides being a farmer, he was also proud to have served the Fowler Police Dept., first as a reserve officer in his younger years, then moving up to officer, ending his career as Assistant Chief of Police in October of 1990.

In 1975, Vernon and Marie sold the farm and moved into town, where they lived next door to Marie's parents on North Sixth Street.

In 1998, Vernon was chosen Fowler's Citizen of the Year.  He was very honored by this award.  He went on to receive many other plaques and awards of recognition over the next few years.  One wall of their Sixth Street home showed them off.  But Vernon was always a very humble and quiet man, always giving thanks to God for all of His blessings.

Vernon faithfully served at the Fowler Presbyterian Church as an Elder and he and Marie sang in the church choir for many, many years.  They raised Lynn and Danny in the church as well and attended faithfully for many decades until Vernon's ill health kept him home.  He had been in hospice care since January 20, 2021.

The family is very grateful to the wonderful care Vernon received from Hinds Hospice.  We are also grateful to Dad's "Angels", caregivers Erika Martinez and Beth White, as well as all the caregivers from Right at Home, especially Lauresha Mina and Anthony Silva. They were all a special blessing to our family during this very difficult time.

Vernon is survived by his wife Marie, daughter Lynn Brown and husband Mark, son Danny Gonsalves and grand-daughter Melissa Craddock and her husband Jeff.

Memorial Services will be held at the Fowler Presbyterian Church, 408 E. Merced St., Fowler on Saturday, March 12, 2022 at 10:00am.

Any memorial gifts can be sent to either Fowler Presbyterian Church, 408 E. Merced St., Fowler CA 93625 or

Redcat Foundation, in care of Randy Gonzales, 213 Birch Court, Fowler, CA 93625 with Fowler Baseball Boosters/Vernon Gonsalves written on memo line.