Vernelle James Ness was born May 30, 1921 to Mr. and Mrs. R. E. Ness of Ambrose Township. He was a 1939 graduate of Ambrose High School and attended North Dakota University.  He mobilized with the North Dakota National Guard in 1941 and received basic training in Louisiana with the 164th Infantry. During World War II he served in Guadalcanal with the 164th and with the American Division in the South Pacific. He was commissioned a Captain in 1945 and received his honorable discharge in 1946.

In 1948 he married Bernadine Spitzer, RN. He purchased a farmstead in Ambrose Township in 1948 and engaged in farm operations until 1959. He was a member of the Ambrose Lutheran Church, the American Legion Post and the Moose Lodge and was a 4-H leader.

Daughter Velma Ness was born in 1948 at the Crosby hospital. In 1950 he established a home in Bottineau, North Dakota. Lloyd Ness was born in 1952 at the Bottineau hospital. Robert, Renee and Royal Ness were born July 5, 1955.

Vern attended North Dakota Forestry School and was employed at the Men’s Store. Wife Bernadine was a staff nurse at the Bottineau hospital. He earned his BS degree in agriculture at NDSU in 1956 and was a Alpha Zeta and ASEA member.  In 1956 he established his home and business interests at Jamestown, North Dakota where he was a member of the American Legion, Elks, Lions, Boy Scouts of America and The American Lutheran Church.

In 1960 he established his home in Grand Island, Nebraska and is territory manager for Oliver Corporation.

Family History taken from page 42 of the
Stories and Histories of Divide County 1964, Crosby, North Dakota
(Edited for content)