Obituaries : Dennis Grainger; Heavy Equipment Mechanic

Dennis Grainger, a longtime Ventura County resident, died at his Ventura home Monday after a long battle with systemic lupus erythematosus. He was 53.

Grainger, who was born April 2, 1942, in Santa Barbara, grew up in Santa Paula and later moved to Ventura.

He was a heavy equipment mechanic at the Naval Construction Battalion Center in Port Hueneme for 20 years before retiring. He worked as a weight-handling specialist for the crane program at the base’s Civil Engineering Department and later as a contract specialist for the base’s Civil Engineering Support Office.

In the 1960s, Grainger won trophies as a professional race car driver and motorcycle racer, competing in such contests as motorcycle’s Baja California Run.

“He thought just to finish and come out alive in the Baja Run was pretty astonishing,” said his wife, Stephnee Grainger. “He continued his interest in racing, boats and water sports throughout his life, and we went on many family vacations where we went houseboating, water-skiing and jet skiing, and on camping vacations where he and the children rode dirt bikes.”

Grainger also built high-performance racing engines for boats that competed nationally.

“He lived life pretty much on his terms and was always very active,” his wife said. “His family and his children were very important to him.”

He also helped other lupus sufferers cope with the chronic skin disease and get through the medical system, she said.

In addition to his wife, Grainger is survived by a daughter, Stacy Grainger of Ventura; a son, David Grainger of Riverside; his mother, Betty Hyde of Santa Paula; his sister, Margaret Fogo of Ventura; his brother, Roger Grainger of Sunnyvale; his stepsister, Linda Adams of Oak View, and his stepbrother, Richard Hyde of Santa Paula.

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday at Santa Paula Methodist Church.

Memorial donations may be made to the Bay Area Lupus Foundation, Suite 206, 2635 N. 1st St., San Jose, CA 95134.

Arrangements are under the direction of Pierce Brothers Stetler Mortuary of Santa Paula.