Mr. John Frank Dearing, 93, passed away Jan. 20. The son of the late "Red" and Eula Mooney Dearing, he was born in 1916 in Porterdale. He was preceded in death by his parents, brother Virgil Dearing and sister Nevelyn Gwin. He was a member of Christ the King Lutheran Church in Hoover, Ala. Mr. Dearing started his career in Porterdale Cotton Mill as a young man. He enlisted in Coast Guard in 1937 and returned June 1959 as WO-1. He received medals for American Theatre, European Theatre, Asiatic- Pacific theatre, American defense, Philippines Liberation Bars and Good Conduct Medal.

Following his retirement from Coast Guard, with hopes of being a pro bowler he went back to Seattle and worked as maintenance man in bowling alley for two years. He then worked as Boiler Plant Operator at Naval and Marine Corps Reserve Center in Tacoma, Wash., and retired. He received a Certificate of Commendation Award for his sustained superior performance. He is a lifetime member of the Panama City Elks Lodge No. 1598. At age 87 and after 55 years of playing golf, he got his first hole-in-one at Magnolia Meadows Golf course in Columbiana, Ala., where he continued to play until age 92.

He is survived by his wife of 26 years Joy Dearing; son Donald (Anice) DeWitt, Slidell, La.; stepson James (Judy) Beasley of Hawaii; stepdaughters Sherry (Andy) Wall of Guam; Renee (Tom) Higginbotham, Maylene, Ala.; granddaughters Donna (Ricardo) Espino, Bradenton, Fla., April (Ed) Delanoy Panama City, Fla.; step-grandchildren Greg Anderson, Ryan (Jillian) Beasley, Chris (Amanda)Beasley and Aaron (Amy) Beasley, Jessica Beasley, Amanda Wall; Samuel, Tara, Sarah, Kristen, Wesley, Emily, and Bethany Higginbotham; five great-grandchildren Keegan Delanoy, Rafael Espino, Marley Jade Robinson, Nash and Chandler Beasley; sister Grace (Grady) Spradley; sister-in-law Mae Dearing, and brother-in-law Raymond Broz; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Mr. Dearing’s visitation will be today from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Christ the King Lutheran Church. His service will be at 10 a.m. Saturday Jan. 23, at the church with the Rev. Dr. Christopher C. DeGreen officiating.