Obituaries: Steve Deardorff

Published 4:00 pm Tuesday, January 19, 2010

YUMA, Ariz. – Steve Deardorff, 74, formerly of Prairie City, died Jan. 14, 2010. A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 23, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in John Day. Interment will follow at the Prairie City Cemetery.

Mr. Deardorff was born June 16, 1935, at Prairie City Hospital, to Herb and Jesse Deardorff. He graduated from Prairie City High School in 1953. He and his sister, Wanda, lived on a ranch with their parents at the upper end of the John Day Valley.

During his life he ranched, logged, was a motor pool specialist and engineer in the military, ran the Shell station in Prairie City for awhile and drove a truck cross country for IML. He was a gifted mechanic who could fix anything, big or small.

After living in Salt Lake City, he and his wife Dorene returned to Prairie City to run the family ranch. After a few years, they moved to Vernal, Utah, where he ran a construction business.

They then moved back to Salt Lake City where they ran a stove store. After selling that, they moved to California on a construction job, and then to Hawaii for a construction job at the Kauai Airport.

After returning to California, he retired in 1997. They bought a home in Wamic, which they remodeled themselves, spending winters in Parker, Ariz. They eventually sold their Wamic house, bought a motorhome and moved to Parker.

Survivors include his wife, Dorene; sister, Wanda Barnhart; son, Mark Deardorff; daughter, Sharyl Gray; two grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Arrangements are under the care of Driskill Memorial Chapel, 241 S. Canyon Blvd, John Day, OR 97845.