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247 North Broadway, Turlock, CA 95380

John Chance December 11, 1930 - January 30, 2025

Date of Service

February 13, 2025

John R Chance Jr. was born on December 11, 1930 in Turlock CA to John Robert Chance Sr and Christine Hollingsworth Chance of Denair CA. John passed from this life January 30, 2025 at the age of 94 after a short illness in Modesto CA after a life well invested in Denair and the Stanislaus County region.

John’s childhood was shaped by family, faith, and the community of Denair as he grew up on Zeering Road. Growing up on a farm, he had chores like driving horses for his dad and hand tying wires on a hay bailer. As a teen, John’s dad entrusted ten acres of land to him to farm beans. He was brought up at the Denair Friends Church and attended the Quaker Meadow Camp.

John attended Denair Schools, which at the time included what we know today as the Golden Gaslight Theater building and graduated with the DHS class of 1949. He was the FFA Chapter President, assembled stage sets for the school plays, and played for the first Denair football team. He attended Modesto Junior College receiving his Associates Degree in Agriculture all while farming in Denair growing black eye beans and forage crops at his family’s small dairy on Zeering Road.

John met his wife, Dixie Hayes, at the original Denair Friends Church where they were married on February 13, 1954. For two years, John and his new bride lived in San Jose CA serving the community at Goodwill. When John and Dixie moved back to Denair, he built themselves a house at the old barn site on the family farm in 1957. Here John and Dixie raised their three children: Tom, Stanley, and Merna.
John’s early farming years were spent with a hoe in his hand, walking the row crops eliminating threats. He raised alfalfa, forage and cereal grain, and beans over those earlier years, and in the 1960’s, he began the almond adventure. John’s last days on the farm were often spent in his golf cart patrolling for pesky weeds.

There were many years where John supplemented the farm’s income by driving the school bus at Denair Unified Schools, fabricating irrigation valves and potato harvesters at the local blacksmith shop, working as a mechanic at Farm Equipment Center in Turlock, and custodial work at Turlock Evangelical Free Church.

John invested most all his business life in and around agriculture and passed these skills and values to his children, grandchildren, and anyone who was privileged to listen to his stories. He was involved in agriculture for more than 85 years. John was a part of many community organizations and churches, which included Denair Friends Church, Evangelical Free Church, Mitchell Community Church, Denair Cemetery Board, Denair Municipal Advisory attendance, Denair and Turlock Historical Societies, and the Stanislaus County Farm Bureau Board.

During their “retirement years,” John and Dixie logged thousands of miles traveling the North American continent in their RV to Alaska, Baja, Nova Scotia and all points in between. John valued the friendships from the RV Club just as much as the trips themselves.

John Chance is survived by his 3 children Tom (Marti) Chance, Stan (Jill) Chance, and Merna Chance; his 8 grandchildren; and 8 great grandchildren.

Viewing at Allen Mortuary 5-7pm Wednesday February 12 at 247 N Broadway, Turlock CA.
Please join us celebrating John’s life story 11 am Thursday morning February 13 at the Denair Friends Church: 4033 N Gratton Rd Denair CA. Graveside service will be held immediately after at the Denair Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial donation to Denair Farm & Family Festival Association P.O. Box 77 Denair, CA 95316 www.denairfestival.com. Designate: “The Denair Community History Project in memory of John Chance” for the acquisition of artifacts, written material, curation, and preservation of Denair history.

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Condolence(1)

  1. Mike Allen says

    So sorry for your loss,
    from the Allen Mortuary Family.

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