John P. VanderMay was born October 3, 1956 in Kadoka, South Dakota. John was the 5th of 12 children born to Loyd and Betty VanderMay and grew up on their farm in Long Valley, SD. Unexpectedly he passed on March 31, 2015, though he will live on through his three sons Brandon (Roxanne), Dan (Erin), and Kurtis VanderMay (Alyssa), and three grandchildren Lisa, Eli, and Lea VanderMay. John was a talented mechanic and trained at Wyo Tech, in Laramie, WY. He graduated in 1975 after which he located to Martin, SD to work at Coon’s Chevrolet garage. John met and married Virginia Engelbert in Martin; they were married for 27 years. He moved to Medicine Bow in 1978 taking a job at a uranium mine. In 1982 he returned to Martin, SD to start VanderMay Southside Service. He moved his family to California in 1985 to take a job at a gold mine. In 1996 he moved to Nevada for a foreman position at Lone Tree Mine outside of Winnemucca; he retired from the mining industry in 2005. He has owned and operated the Rocky View Inn located in Orovada, NV since 2006 where he met so great people and became friends with the community. John enjoyed life very much and shared many hobbies with his sons. He and his boys spent a lot of time outdoors riding dirt bikes, target shooting, fishing, and water skiing. John and his boys also spent a lot of time working on construction projects, and working on cars and motorcycles together. He worked very hard all of his life to provide for his family but he always made time for his best friends, his three sons.
