John Robert Malnerich, 67, a resident of the Gaston community, passed away Dec. 8, 2019, at the Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Portland, Ore. He was born May 26, 1952, in Centralia, Wash.
He was one of two children born to John Denny and Birdie Payne Duffy. When his parents divorced, his father remarried and he gained a stepmom, Delores and three siblings. He was raised in Centralia on the family dairy farm and attended Centralia High School graduating with the class of 1971.
He met his future wife, Deborah "Debby" Richter in grade school. They grew up together but only started dating after high school. Following a short courtship, they married Jan. 20, 1973, in Centralia, Wash. They have four children, Tennille, Maisie, Shanna and JJ. They raised their family wherever they found work and moved every two to three years. They lived in Atoka, Okla., and then in Centralia and in Bend, Ore. In 1990, they moved to the Buxton/Banks area, then on to Birkenfield, Prineville, Hillsboro, Sisters and finally, Gaston.
John worked in construction his whole life. He owned and operated Westside Redi-Mix, Westside Rock and has operated several different businesses throughout the years in construction. He enjoyed the outdoors especially hunting, fishing and camping. He always had a river sled, a sand rail, a quad or motorcycle and was always into hot rods. Debby and John like to travel and primarily it would be to Montana or Wyoming in the winter. He worked hard, but also believed in playing harder. He was a hard ass with a big heart! He was very close to his grandchildren, he loved teaching them to work and fix things. John listened to classic rock, enjoyed dancing with his wife and was a great mentor to a lot of young men in the construction industry.
He was preceded in death by his parents, John Denny and Delores; and by his brother, Joe Parypa.
John is survived by his loving wife, Debby; four children and their spouses, Tennille Russell and her fiancé, Calvin Kirton of Cornelius, Maisie Malnerich of Hillsboro, Shanna and Brent Kerr of Yamhill and JJ Malnerich and his fiancé, Mandi Hartford of Gaston; three siblings, Trudy Carlson of Battle Ground, Bob (Jan) Parypa of Centralia, Krista Parypa of Winlock and sister-in-law, Ellen Parypa of Centralia, whom he shared a close bond with; eight grandchildren, Garett, Gage, Payton, Olivia, Dawit, Halle, Karson and John; and his mother, Birdie.
A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 22, 2019, at the Schlegel Hall in Banks.
