continued from page suppertime if ….

continued from page

suppertime if Verne had been up for it.

He told a lot of Cowboys stories, dating back to those days when he was the radio voice of the team’s network, as Tom Landry developed an NFL powerhouse, winning two Super Bowls.

Observing Verne’s natural ability to connect with his audience was a reminder that CBS probably never fully appreciated Verne’s being one of the greatest ambassadors that the network has ever had.

Most announcers tend to be private, but Verne, who never went anywhere without his lovely wife, Nancy, was very “social.” He never met a dinner party he didn’t like. Being the grand raconteur that he is, he “made” the party wherever he went.

He made friends with the athletic staff of the schools which hosted CBS from week to week. He was always making the local folk feel good. He never flew off the handle. He never had a brush with controversy, and he never found fault with anything, and he always left the guests laughing.

During his remarks to Mark Miller’s real estate group, nobody whispered to a neighbor. Nobody took a break, and nobody asked an insulting question.

Said one long time salesman, who grew up in Athens, one of Verne’s favorite places, “We have had many interesting speakers, but Verne is the only one who made us laugh for an hour.”