Derrel passed away at home in the company of his loving family on August 9, 2012.
Born in Puxico, Missouri in 1924 into a family of 9 children, he moved to Tulare at 13 years of age. It was the Dust Bowl era and his struggling family farmed him out to a local dairy family where he worked and was treated as a family member along with the other children. This was a fairly common practice during those hard times.
After graduating from Tulare High School he attended a Cal Poly program designed to address the problem of unemployment among Depression-era youth where he was taught welding arts. After completing the welding program he joined the Army and was stationed at Camp Pinedale during the war. While in the Army he met his future wife Josephine Bianco at a Fresno swimming pool. They were married in 1944 and began a remarkable family and business career together.
Best known as the founder of Derrel's Mini Storage, he owned and operated several local businesses prior to entering self storage. Making use of his training at Cal Poly, his first business was started in his garage and grew into Artcraft Ornamental Iron Works which supplied developers and homeowners throughout the Valley with beautiful ornamental iron architectural features. Later, after developing and patenting a method for precasting stair treads, he started Staircraft, Inc. and Tri-State stairway, manufacturing and installing stairways and iron railings to apartments and motels in California, Nevada and Arizona.
In the early 1960's Derrel believed there was a need for easy access to public storage. He opened what is believed to be the first self storage facility in the United States. This facility is still in operation at Herndon and Villa here in Fresno. In partnership with his son, Derrel A. Ridenour, who took the lead in the early 1970's, the next 50 years saw Derrel's Mini Storage grow to become the largest privately-owned self storage company in the United States. Throughout their lives together Derrel and Josephine, who passed away on Mother's Day in 2008, worked as partners in all their business ventures.
Derrel was a true gentleman and mentor, beloved by his family, business associates, friends and employees. He was a member of the Elks, SIRS and Holiday Ramblers RV Club and played golf at San Joaquin and Fig Garden Golf Clubs.
He is also pre-deceased by his youngest child, Susan, who passed away this year.
He is survived by two sisters, Geraldine and Peggy; children, Dianne and her husband Steve, Derrel and his wife Kim, and son-in-law Jon; five grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren. We are all very sad to loose his physical presence in our lives.
Heartfelt thanks go to Derrel's devoted and loving caregivers Rose, Maria, Becky, Carmen and Lupe, his physical therapist, Luis and the St. Agnes Home Health and Hospice teams.
A Funeral Service will be held at Whitehurst, Sullivan, Burns & Blair Funeral Home on Friday, August 17, 2012 at 10:00 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to one of Derrel's favorite charities: Valley Children's Hospital, St. Agnes Medical Center and Poverello House.
Source: Whitehurst, Sullivan, Burns & Blair Obituary
Born in Puxico, Missouri in 1924 into a family of 9 children, he moved to Tulare at 13 years of age. It was the Dust Bowl era and his struggling family farmed him out to a local dairy family where he worked and was treated as a family member along with the other children. This was a fairly common practice during those hard times.
After graduating from Tulare High School he attended a Cal Poly program designed to address the problem of unemployment among Depression-era youth where he was taught welding arts. After completing the welding program he joined the Army and was stationed at Camp Pinedale during the war. While in the Army he met his future wife Josephine Bianco at a Fresno swimming pool. They were married in 1944 and began a remarkable family and business career together.
Best known as the founder of Derrel's Mini Storage, he owned and operated several local businesses prior to entering self storage. Making use of his training at Cal Poly, his first business was started in his garage and grew into Artcraft Ornamental Iron Works which supplied developers and homeowners throughout the Valley with beautiful ornamental iron architectural features. Later, after developing and patenting a method for precasting stair treads, he started Staircraft, Inc. and Tri-State stairway, manufacturing and installing stairways and iron railings to apartments and motels in California, Nevada and Arizona.
In the early 1960's Derrel believed there was a need for easy access to public storage. He opened what is believed to be the first self storage facility in the United States. This facility is still in operation at Herndon and Villa here in Fresno. In partnership with his son, Derrel A. Ridenour, who took the lead in the early 1970's, the next 50 years saw Derrel's Mini Storage grow to become the largest privately-owned self storage company in the United States. Throughout their lives together Derrel and Josephine, who passed away on Mother's Day in 2008, worked as partners in all their business ventures.
Derrel was a true gentleman and mentor, beloved by his family, business associates, friends and employees. He was a member of the Elks, SIRS and Holiday Ramblers RV Club and played golf at San Joaquin and Fig Garden Golf Clubs.
He is also pre-deceased by his youngest child, Susan, who passed away this year.
He is survived by two sisters, Geraldine and Peggy; children, Dianne and her husband Steve, Derrel and his wife Kim, and son-in-law Jon; five grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren. We are all very sad to loose his physical presence in our lives.
Heartfelt thanks go to Derrel's devoted and loving caregivers Rose, Maria, Becky, Carmen and Lupe, his physical therapist, Luis and the St. Agnes Home Health and Hospice teams.
A Funeral Service will be held at Whitehurst, Sullivan, Burns & Blair Funeral Home on Friday, August 17, 2012 at 10:00 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to one of Derrel's favorite charities: Valley Children's Hospital, St. Agnes Medical Center and Poverello House.
Source: Whitehurst, Sullivan, Burns & Blair Obituary
Derrel passed away at home in the company of his loving family on August 9, 2012.
Born in Puxico, Missouri in 1924 into a family of 9 children, he moved to Tulare at 13 years of age. It was the Dust Bowl era and his struggling family farmed him out to a local dairy family where he worked and was treated as a family member along with the other children. This was a fairly common practice during those hard times.
After graduating from Tulare High School he attended a Cal Poly program designed to address the problem of unemployment among Depression-era youth where he was taught welding arts. After completing the welding program he joined the Army and was stationed at Camp Pinedale during the war. While in the Army he met his future wife Josephine Bianco at a Fresno swimming pool. They were married in 1944 and began a remarkable family and business career together.
Best known as the founder of Derrel's Mini Storage, he owned and operated several local businesses prior to entering self storage. Making use of his training at Cal Poly, his first business was started in his garage and grew into Artcraft Ornamental Iron Works which supplied developers and homeowners throughout the Valley with beautiful ornamental iron architectural features. Later, after developing and patenting a method for precasting stair treads, he started Staircraft, Inc. and Tri-State stairway, manufacturing and installing stairways and iron railings to apartments and motels in California, Nevada and Arizona.
In the early 1960's Derrel believed there was a need for easy access to public storage. He opened what is believed to be the first self storage facility in the United States. This facility is still in operation at Herndon and Villa here in Fresno. In partnership with his son, Derrel A. Ridenour, who took the lead in the early 1970's, the next 50 years saw Derrel's Mini Storage grow to become the largest privately-owned self storage company in the United States. Throughout their lives together Derrel and Josephine, who passed away on Mother's Day in 2008, worked as partners in all their business ventures.
Derrel was a true gentleman and mentor, beloved by his family, business associates, friends and employees. He was a member of the Elks, SIRS and Holiday Ramblers RV Club and played golf at San Joaquin and Fig Garden Golf Clubs.
He is also pre-deceased by his youngest child, Susan, who passed away this year.
He is survived by two sisters, Geraldine and Peggy; children, Dianne and her husband Steve, Derrel and his wife Kim, and son-in-law Jon; five grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren. We are all very sad to loose his physical presence in our lives.
Heartfelt thanks go to Derrel's devoted and loving caregivers Rose, Maria, Becky, Carmen and Lupe, his physical therapist, Luis and the St. Agnes Home Health and Hospice teams.
A Funeral Service will be held at Whitehurst, Sullivan, Burns & Blair Funeral Home on Friday, August 17, 2012 at 10:00 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to one of Derrel's favorite charities: Valley Children's Hospital, St. Agnes Medical Center and Poverello House.
Source: Whitehurst, Sullivan, Burns & Blair Obituary
Born in Puxico, Missouri in 1924 into a family of 9 children, he moved to Tulare at 13 years of age. It was the Dust Bowl era and his struggling family farmed him out to a local dairy family where he worked and was treated as a family member along with the other children. This was a fairly common practice during those hard times.
After graduating from Tulare High School he attended a Cal Poly program designed to address the problem of unemployment among Depression-era youth where he was taught welding arts. After completing the welding program he joined the Army and was stationed at Camp Pinedale during the war. While in the Army he met his future wife Josephine Bianco at a Fresno swimming pool. They were married in 1944 and began a remarkable family and business career together.
Best known as the founder of Derrel's Mini Storage, he owned and operated several local businesses prior to entering self storage. Making use of his training at Cal Poly, his first business was started in his garage and grew into Artcraft Ornamental Iron Works which supplied developers and homeowners throughout the Valley with beautiful ornamental iron architectural features. Later, after developing and patenting a method for precasting stair treads, he started Staircraft, Inc. and Tri-State stairway, manufacturing and installing stairways and iron railings to apartments and motels in California, Nevada and Arizona.
In the early 1960's Derrel believed there was a need for easy access to public storage. He opened what is believed to be the first self storage facility in the United States. This facility is still in operation at Herndon and Villa here in Fresno. In partnership with his son, Derrel A. Ridenour, who took the lead in the early 1970's, the next 50 years saw Derrel's Mini Storage grow to become the largest privately-owned self storage company in the United States. Throughout their lives together Derrel and Josephine, who passed away on Mother's Day in 2008, worked as partners in all their business ventures.
Derrel was a true gentleman and mentor, beloved by his family, business associates, friends and employees. He was a member of the Elks, SIRS and Holiday Ramblers RV Club and played golf at San Joaquin and Fig Garden Golf Clubs.
He is also pre-deceased by his youngest child, Susan, who passed away this year.
He is survived by two sisters, Geraldine and Peggy; children, Dianne and her husband Steve, Derrel and his wife Kim, and son-in-law Jon; five grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren. We are all very sad to loose his physical presence in our lives.
Heartfelt thanks go to Derrel's devoted and loving caregivers Rose, Maria, Becky, Carmen and Lupe, his physical therapist, Luis and the St. Agnes Home Health and Hospice teams.
A Funeral Service will be held at Whitehurst, Sullivan, Burns & Blair Funeral Home on Friday, August 17, 2012 at 10:00 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to one of Derrel's favorite charities: Valley Children's Hospital, St. Agnes Medical Center and Poverello House.
Source: Whitehurst, Sullivan, Burns & Blair Obituary
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