JAMES WILLIAM DEARINGER
Obituary
James W. DearingerOctober 13, 1946-September 23, 2026
James (Yancy) was born October 13, 1946 in Tacoma, Washington, He spent most of his younger years in Yakima, Washington. He was the 10th child and as a young boy, he lived in a chicken coop converted into a bedroom for many of his brothers. With his love of horses, he joined the local rodeo and won many team roping contests.
After high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Marines and was sent to Vietnam. When he returned, he moved to Barstow, California where he met Linda, his first wife, and worked as a truck driver. When they moved to San Jose, he became an auto technician for Piercey Toyota (which had many names throughout the years) where he worked for 31 years.
After his divorce, he met and married Diane in 1983 and moved to her home in Felton. They loved living in the San Lorenzo Valley for over 30 years. They both loved line dancing and joined groups in Santa Clara County and Santa Cruz County and danced on cruises.
In the late 1990s, he began having heart issues and Diane got him enrolled at the VA under the Agent Orange program and his open heart surgery was performed at the VA in Palo Alto. Through the years, various other medical issues were handled with a variety of procedures and surgeries.
After retiring, he purchased all the necessary equipment to repair clocks. With his attention to detail, he was able to fix numerous clocks for the residents at Montevalle in Scotts Valley where they moved in 2007. He loved Sudoku and constantly worked on the extreme versions.
Through the years, he joined the Moose lodge and the Clampers, where he did a lot of barbecuing. He dropped out of all activities due to his Alzheimer’s diagnosis and physical decline.
Although he never pursued it, he had a fabulous voice with perfect pitch. He refused to join any choir groups, but was known as the “singing mechanic” at the Toyota dealership.
He leaves behind his wife, Diane Dearinger, of 45 years; his stepson, Curtis Albertson, of Yankee Hill, California; and his daughter, Malinda Bowling, of Auburn, California.