Vernon Lee Keith, 79, a McMinnville resident and DeKalb County native, died Aug. 10 in St. Thomas Midtown Hospital following an extended illness. Mr. Keith established McMinnville’s Chicken Chef in 1968 and started General Equipment Company in 1974. He was a veteran of the Tennessee Army National Guard, member of Bybee Branch Church of Christ, and son of the late Claudie and Carnell Taylor Keith.