BREITBARTH, Vernon (Vern) Edward

West Valley View, Avondale, Arizona, Friday, January 25, 2013 Vernon Edward Breitbarth, 87, of Avondale died Jan. 20, 2013, from lung cancer at Palm Valley Rehabilitation and Care Center. Mr. Breitbarth was born June 18, 1925, in Pender, Neb., to Helene and Fred Breitbarth. He moved to Arizona in 1963. He served for 20 years in the Navy during World War II and the Korean War, working as a salvage diver. He retired in 1963. He then moved to Phoenix and worked for Sears until retiring in 1978. He was a member of the VFW and volunteered at prison ministry, nursing homes and Child Crisis Centers. He was preceded in death by his wife, Ruth Breitbarth. He is survived by one daughter, Connie Selby of Avondale; one son, Dan Munn of Young; one sister, Joan Fleming of St. Paul, Minn.; five grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren. Services will be at 11 a.m. Jan. 28 at the Veterans National Memorial Cemetery, 23029 N. Cave Creek Road in Phoenix. Memorials can be sent to Hospice of the Valley at hov.org.