John Barinaga

John Barinaga, aged 91, passed away peacefully on Friday, April 14, 2017, at his home in Sonoma. He is survived by his loving daughter, Marcia Barinaga, and son-in-law Corey Goodman, of Marshall, Calif., and by his sister-in-law, Marilyn Barinaga, of Castelford, Idaho.

John was born in Mountain Home, Idaho, in 1925 to Valentin and Eulalia Barinaga, Basque immigrants who met in Idaho. He graduated from Castleford High School. As a teenager, John worked summers as a comptender for his father’s sheep operation. John received a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Idaho, and took a job with General Electric in Schenectady, New York. There he met his wife, Stephanie; they married in 1951. John’s work for GE took them to Manhattan and then to Caracas, Venezuela. In 1955, they returned to Schenectady, where Marcia was born, and in 1974, they moved to Roanoke, Virginia.

Throughout his career, John’s work in drive systems for steel rolling mills took him frequently on business to the Basque country to work with the steel rolling mills in Bilbao. This enabled him to form close relationships with his family in the Basque country, relationships that he cherished throughout his life.

John took up backpacking in his 50s and hiked for many summers in the mountains of Idaho and Nevada with his daughter, nieces and nephews, and his dog, Oliver. He would tell stories of growing up on the ranch, and created many new memories with the next generation.

Upon retiring in 1985, John and Stephanie moved to Sonoma, where they lived in the Diamond A Ranch. John studied oenology and viticulture, planted a vineyard, and became a passionate home winemaker. His wines won many awards, and he trained several of his neighbors in winemaking.

For most of the 32 years he lived in the Diamond A, John could be seen every morning just after daybreak, taking his daily four-mile walk. John served on the Diamond A Neighborhood Association board for many years, serving as Board President as well as editor of their newsletter. He also was active with the Sonoma Mountain Preservation Society.

In his final years, John nursed Stephanie through a long illness until her death at home in November of 2015. After seven years of chemotherapy for myelodysplasia, John’s health declined rapidly in the past year, and he died at home under the loving care of his caregiver, Janine Raddock-Fong. The family is deeply grateful to Janine, and also to Rachel Guevara, caregiver, as well as to the staff of Hospice by the Bay, to John’s physician Dennis Verducci and his caring staff, and to the wonderful chemo nurses at the Edwin Eubanks Cancer Center in Petaluma, where John received chemotherapy every month for seven years.

A private interment will be held. A celebration of John’s life will be held for all who knew and loved John at the Diamond A Recreation Center, 18843 Spring Drive, Sonoma, on Saturday, June 24, at 2 p.m.

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