John Ralph De Lany

John (Jack) Ralph De Lany passed away peacefully on December 13, 2022 at the age of 91 with his family by his side.

Jack was the oldest of two children, born in Watsonville on December 20, 1930 to Thelma and Ray De Lany. He attended Watsonville High School and graduated in 1949. Jack was a Korean War Veteran, enlisting in the United States Air Force in 1951 and deployed to Korea during the Korean War. After four years in the service, Jack earned his Associate of Arts degree in 1957 from Hartnell College in Salinas California. He moved to San Jose, California and joined IBM where he worked until his retirement in 1991.

Jack was a talented artist and painted for over 50 years. He loved nature and often painted local landscapes, historical and antiquated structures throughout northern California, especially the Watsonville, and Pacific coastal region. He painted under the name of "Americana Originals in Acrylic" and showed his paintings in local venues, homes of friends and family, and IBM campuses in San Jose.

After he could no longer paint, Jack focused on buying and selling Native American jewelry. He loved to learn about the people behind the craft as much as the jewelry itself.

Jack is survived by his wife of 64 years Carole Sue (Spung) De Lany, son and daughter-in-law Michael and Nisha De Lany, daughter and son-in-law Stacey (De Lany) and Nils Holden, grandchildren Jiya and Jaan De Lany, and sister Claire Vilhauer.

Donations are welcomed at Kindred Hospice, 4120 Dublin Blvd., Suite 105, Dublin, California 94568.

Published in The Pajaronian · January 19, 2023