Dr. Vernon W. Mayer Jr. died on June 4, 2026, in Sarasota, Florida where he and his late wife, Rhoda Taylor lived since 2015. He leaves behind his daughters Sara Mayer and Katherine Papa (Trepasso), her husband Bob Papa and grandchild Alex Trepasso. He also leaves his sister Betty Stover and her husband Bill Stover, their daughters and sons-in-law Hannah and Tony Martirano and Amanda and Matthew Campbell, and five grandchildren.

He married Rhoda Taylor in 1981, together they created a blended family leaving stepchildren Diane Morsillo and Rick Taylor, their spouses Guy Morsillo and Wendy Taylor, grandchildren, Taylor Daphne Morsillo and Ansel Morsillo.

Vernon was born on March 29, 1939, and grew up in Silver Spring Maryland where he began his passions of stamp collecting and playing the piano, which he continued through his entire life. Both interests came from his family with his father playing the violin and his aunt playing the piano. His father began collecting stamps for him the day he was born. Vernon loved to tell the story of going to his piano lessons in Adams Morgan in D. C., riding the buses and taking detours to the embassies to ask them for stamps he could take home, “who could resist a cute little boy”.

Vernon attended Montgomery Blair High School graduating in 1957 and then obtained three degrees from the University of Maryland culminating in a PhD in Microbiology in 1967. During his tenure working for the Food and Drug Administration in Washington D.C. he was a recognized toxicologist and geneticist who served as a prominent researcher conducting extensive studies on the mutagenic and genetic effects of food additives, chemicals and pharmaceuticals. He was known for his foundational work at the FDA, including early environmental safety testing and proposing yeast genetic assays for chemical safety evaluations.

Vernon and his friends would have ruckus parties playing music and singing late into the evening, so much so that when Vernon had his daughters, he would place them under the piano to sleep, since they didn’t want to go to bed. His children also remember him as a good dancer and have early memories of going to Blobs Park, a German beer hall, to Polka. Vernon was also an avid sailor having a boat at the Chesapeake Bay, spending many weekends entertaining friends and family on the water.

Vernon spent a year at the Technical University in Darmstadt, Germany, working with a friend and colleague Friedrich Zimmerman. He was able to do interesting research along with enjoying his love of travel and good beer. Rhoda and all the children were able to join him band spend time traveling and exploring Europe, which they thoroughly relished. Vernon stated this year as a favorite, having novel adventures, meeting new people and traveling many parts of Europe.

After a life well lived, full of love, travel, music and adventures we say goodbye to a loving father, brother, grandfather and friend.

In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the Unitarian Universalist Church in Sarasota Florida. https://tithe.ly/give_new/www/#/tithely/give-one-time/1648806