Biography: Vern E. Plunkett, 88, of Little Rock, died November 2, 2007. A retired insurance executive and son of a pioneering Arkansas family, Mr. Plunkett was born on October 3, 1919, at Fort Smith to the late B. E. Plunkett and Naoma Lassiter Plunkett. He attended the former Arkansas Polytechnical College at Russellville and the former Arkansas State Teachers College at Conway on music scholarships, then taught high school music and band classes in Dermott, Ark., prior to World War II. During the war Mr. Plunkett served in the U.S. Army as a Chief Warrant Officer stationed in the Aleutian Islands at Dutch Harbor, Alaska, with the 206th Coast Artillery. In 1944, Mr. Plunkett was assigned to Fort Francis E. Warren in Cheyenne, Wyo., where he was commander of the 352nd Army Forces Band, and conducted an Army orchestra in concerts broadcast nationally each Sunday on NBC Radio. Mr. Plunkett returned to Arkansas in 1945 and initiated a 40-year career in sales and marketing. During the 1950s he served as vice president for National Equity and National Old Line insurance companies, both headquartered at Little Rock. In 1960 he joined Seattle-based Family Life Insurance Company, a West Coast mortgage life insurance company, as vice president and for the next 20 years expanded the company across the country to the East Coast. During this time Mr. Plunkett piloted his own airplane for business and pleasure travel, often with his wife as co-pilot. His Little Rock business interests included partnerships in various real estate ventures. After retirement, Mr. Plunkett enjoyed playing golf with longtime friends, and traveling with his wife. Mr. Plunkett loved his church, Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Little Rock, where he served on the vestry and board of Trinity's Cathedral School. He was a 32nd Degree Mason, member of the American Legion, former Commander of the U.S. Power Squadron's Little Rock branch, a charter member of the Little Rock Yacht Club, and a long-time member of Pleasant Valley Country Club. Survivors include his wife of 63 years, Mavis Mashburn Plunkett; one son, Robert A. Plunkett and his wife Tanya Perry Plunkett; two grandchildren, Jeffrey M. Plunkett and his wife Donna Berry Plunkett; and Maria B. Troeger and her husband Christopher Troeger; and two great grandchildren, Diana Morgan Plunkett and Conall Alexander Plunkett, all of Little Rock; a sister-in-law, Rubye Plunkett, of Fort Smith, plus several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents and a brother, Paul E. Plunkett of Fort Smith. A memorial service will be 2:00 p.m. Monday, November 5, at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, officiated by The Very Reverend Henry Hudson, following private interment in Roselawn Memorial Park by Ruebel Funeral Home, www.ruebelfuneralhome.com. Memorials may be made to the Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, 310 West 17th Street, Little Rock, AR 72206, or a favorite charity.