Obituaries - June 26, 1997

Simeon E. “Pappy” Dyke of Thousand Oaks, water-well driller to the stars, died Monday at Columbia Los Robles Hospital. He was 82.

Born on Jan. 10, 1915, in Harmon, Okla., he moved to Thousand Oaks in 1941, where he opened a water-well drilling company. He soon earned a reputation for being a generous man, making work for those who needed a job.

Dyke located water for many of the area’s ranches, farms and homes, including those owned by such celebrities as Ronald Reagan, Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Carol Channing, Alan Ladd and Bobby Vinton.

“I thought he was one of the most exceptional people I’ve ever met,” said Tina Carlson, chairwoman of the Conejo Valley Oral History Project. “He was genuine. He was good. He loved people--you could tell that.”

Carlson interviewed Dyke in February 1995 as part of an ongoing effort to record the valley’s history. The interview is on file at the Thousand Oaks Library.

Dyke’s first homestead in Thousand Oaks is now the site of a Toyota dealership on Thousand Oaks Boulevard.

He was a charter member of the local Elks lodge and was active for many years in raising money for crippled children’s charities.

Survivors include two daughters, Bonnie McKee of British Columbia and Mary Lippert of Montana; a son, Gayle, of Newbury Park; 13 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.

Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. today at Pierce Brothers Griffin Mortuary in Thousand Oaks.

Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Friday at Pierce Brothers, with burial at Valley Oaks Memorial Park in Westlake Village.