Maynard Buel Derks

Maynard was born at home in Mountain View, Missouri on September 21, 1928 to Ross L. Derks and Ethel Viola Holden Derks. Maynard had 2 sisters and 5 brothers. Maynard was the 5th child of the 8. (Maynard’s Father was an old time Blacksmith.) Maynard Buel Derks passed away on December 17, 2021 at the age of 93.

Maynard lost his mother when he was 10 years old. As he grew up he had a lot of responsibility of helping with the cooking of the meals and other chores to help take care of his brothers and sisters. His Father also had a hired girl came in to help with taking care of chores.

Maynard had a variety of jobs during his working years. He worked in Advertising Movie Show bills, sold Colier’s Magazines and Clovering Brand Salve, he worked at Annie Blue and Castle’s Theatres and at a restaurant. After he got married he worked 10 years at Virtue Bros Furniture Company as a carpenter, then later at Panel Air, Ace Lumber Furniture Company and his last job was 41 years at the Lynwood Unified School District as a Maintenance Supervisor. He retired from the School District in December 2012 at the age of 84.

While working at Castle’s Theatre, Maynard sold tickets, and his boss decided he wanted a lady to sell tickets. So one lady, by the name of June, applied for the job, and she was hired. She not only took Maynard’s job away, but a few years later she became Maynard’s wife. He still worked at the theatre, but he took the tickets instead of selling them.

Maynard and June were married on June 11, 1948. Maynard was 19 and June was 17. They then came to California where Maynard had a job waiting for him at Virtue Brothers Furniture Company. They later had two children Greg and Debbie.

Maynard had 4 brothers that served in the Military. In 1945, Maynard lost his brother Kenneth Lee Derks while serving his Country. During the 2nd World War, Maynard was going to join the military but he was too young at the time. The next time, they were not taking married men and Maynard had gotten married by that time. By this time Maynard and June had started their family and the military was not taking men with children which Maynard now had.

Maynard love telling jokes to just about anyone he met. Anyone that knew him am sure they were on the receiving end of hearing one of his many jokes. Some of Maynard’s accomplishments were an interest in electronics where he took an in home course by mail, as this was before computers, where he learned a lot about electronics and then received his certificate of completion. He also took a locksmith class and received a certificate of completion. Hobbies Maynard enjoyed were in woodworking; he made several pieces of furniture for his family’s home, even made Debbie a floor to ceiling bookcase for her many books. He was good at jigsaw puzzles where he spent many hours with the family putting puzzles together. He loved gardening, taking care of his beautiful roses, keeping the wild birds and the hummingbirds fed and their bird bath filled with clean water. Then enjoyed watching the birds flutter around the yard and feeder. He also enjoyed some stamp collecting. Later, when he no longer could do as much, he enjoyed doing the word search puzzles, reading the Chronological Bible which he read in its entirety. He liked reading or watching a good western. A few of his favorite Heroes were Roy Rogers, Ken Maynard and Gene Autry. He liked Ken Maynard so well, he started spelling his name like Ken Maynard did, spelling it with MAY instead of MAI. In his younger years, Maynard was told that he looked a lot like Clark Gable. His favorite thing of each and every day was a cup of coffee promptly at 4:30pm on the dot, out on the patio, weather permitting, or in his favorite chair in the house.

Maynard also enjoyed taking vacations most every summer while Greg and Debbie were growing up. As a family we visited a lot of National Parks, National Monuments, and Ghost Towns. We also did a lot of camping and many trips back to Missouri to see his Father and other relatives, along with trips to Vermont where his wife June was from to visit relatives there.

Maynard and June were married for 71 years at the time of June’s passing in 2019.

Dad was our go to guy, when we needed something fixed. He did it all, woodwork, plumbing, electric, repair on equipment etc. Dad was the ultimate Husband and Father, no wife or child could have asked for a better Husband or Father. He will be greatly missed.

Maynard is survived by his son Greg Derks, Daughter-in-law Jeny Derks, Daughter Debbie Derks, Granddaughter Fiorella Hernandez, Grandson–in-Law Jose Hernandez, Great Granddaughter Amanda Hernandez, Sister Norma Jean Davis, and Brother Harold Dean Derks and many nieces and nephews across the Country.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.whitesmortuary.com for the Derks family.