Vernon Cheek, 99, engineer, photographer

Vernon Cheek had an engineer’s curiosity about the way things worked.

He loved to build clocks and was always taking apart and fixing watches. Although he lacked formal musical training, Mr. Cheek learned to play the violin, piano and organ well.

He also taught himself photography, often taking close-up photos of bees and other insects using a macro lens, said his daughter, Anne Meyer of Alpharetta.

Mr. Cheek was born in Hart County and went on to major in electrical engineering at Georgia Tech. He worked as an engineer for the Protestant Radio and Television Center and Audichron, a company that made talking clocks and other devices.

Mr. Cheek, 99, died Saturday of kidney failure at Peachtree Christian Hospice in Duluth. Graveside services will be 3:30 p.m. today at Decatur Cemetery. A memorial service will be 4 p.m. Oct. 11 at Northbrook United Methodist Church in Roswell. A.S. Turner & Sons funeral home is in charge.

When he was 70, Mr. Cheek started a small clock and watch repair business from his home called Old Colony Clocks. In his mid-90s, he repaired watches for friends in his assisted living home, his daughter said.

Other survivors include a daughter, Sharon Rodriguez of Atlanta; and a granddaughter.