John J. Vereschagin, 88, passed away August 8.

Born in Orland on May 19, 1932, to John A. & Tina Vereschagin, John attended Orland Schools, graduating from Orland High in 1951. Farming with his family was his life, ultimately partnering with his brother, Vernon, in 1950, and the operation now continues with the next generation. In 1956, John married Katharina (Katy) Bloo, and together they raised two sons, Mike and Tim.

John was a self-taught mechanic and equipment builder. He invented or built the first of many varied pieces of farm equipment. In 1967, he built the very first Bin Carrier to solve a problem of handling fruit bins fast enough to work with the mechanization of prune harvesting. With its success, John was able to get a patent on it and proceeded into manufacturing them in what is now the current farm shop. He also designed and built one of the first self-propelled tree toppers and orchard sprayers, prune harvesters, and many other pieces of equipment which are still widely in use today.

John served on a number of boards throughout our farming community: Board Member and Past President of the Glenn County Farm Bureau; District Director 1996-2000 of the California Farm Bureau; 22 year Board Member of the Orland-Artois Water District (7 years of which he served as President); the Artois Fire District Board; and the Cal-West Seeds Board.

John's life was centered on his family. He loved to go camping with his family, as long as there was fishing nearby. John had a passion for steelhead fishing on the Sacramento River, as well as trout in various streams. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Katy; sons, Mike (Jenny) and Tim; brother, Vernon; 5 grandchildren, Lindsay Vereschagin-Tripp (Zack) of Red Bluff, Heather Vereschagin of Chico, Joshua Carlile (Jaime), John Robert Vereschagin (Stephanie) of Minnesota, & Justin Vereschagin of Texas; 6 great grandchildren, Brenden and Alexis Vereschagin-Trip, Michaela and Matthew Vereschagin, & Julia and Jocelyn Carlile.

A private graveside service will be held by the family. A public Celebration of Life will be planned once the restrictions of the Covid Pandemic have been lifted. The family requests that memorial contributions in John's name be made to the First Lutheran Church of Orland or to the Glenn County Farm Bureau Scholarship Fund.