John O. Varble

1928 - 2011

Mar. 11, 1928-Oct. 19, 2011

Like his mother before him and her mother before her, Johnny Varble was born in Simi Valley. He was raised in the shadow of the depression, working hard for his family's existence from the time he was a small child. When young, Johnny was known as a highly intelligent, quiet and serious person, qualities that remained with him throughout his lifetime.

Upon graduating from Simi Valley High School, Johnny followed his father's footsteps in the Marines. Johnny obtained one the highest scores on the Marine aptitude test of his class at Pendleton culminating in an offer to be sent to MIT for a compressed college degree plan. He declined this offer but did become an expert rifleman which is the highest ranking for shooting in the Marines.

Following his discharge in 1947, Johnny returned to Ventura to work in the oil fields. He excelled in oil drilling and was offered a position in Brazil in 1956. Drilling along the Amazon was brutal and demanding work but, despite the hardships, Johnny was in his element. The Brazilian government was convinced that oil would be found in the Amazon basin. Large complex oil rigs were positioned in remote locations that could only be reached by air. Working with local villagers, Johnny rapidly learned Portuguese and against all odds managed to run a successful drilling operation.

At 28 years of age, Johnny was promoted to "Head Driller" for all operations of the Brazilian petroleum drilling company Petrobras. Johnny was the first to drill into a long searched for geologic formation that proved that, unfortunately, oil was not present along the Amazon where the Brazilians thought it would be.

Johnny returned to Simi in 1962 with Chico, his adopted son, and Linda, his daughter. His sons John and Rich would be born a few years later.

James Arness, the actor who played Marshall Matt Dillon on TV, was looking for a real cowboy to run his ranch in Simi. Jim Runkle, a good friend of Johnny's and longtime Simi rancher, introduced Johnny to Jim Arness. The two became instant and lifelong friends. Johnny managed the Arness ranch until 1973 when Jim gave the property to the Brandeis Institute.

Johnny worked for Brandeis, now the Brandeis-Bardin Institute of the AJU for the following 38 years. He maintained a working cattle ranch and supervised all care and maintenance of the 3,000 acre property and its buildings. The last act of his life was, in fact, in service to Brandeis. No one was more committed to Brandeis and its mission than Johnny Varble. All who knew Johnny knew what a remarkable horseman he was.

In 1976 an unknown ranch horse named Rose Dillon came from nowhere to win a dazzling victory over all the professionals at the Cow Palace stock horse show. Rose won the Cow Place for the next three years and, thus began, a 35-year dominance in the horse show circuit of Dillon horses with Johnny at the reins. He was unbeatable, even in his eighties. Friends and family were a vital part of Johnny's life. On March 11, 1986, he married Wendy and together they created a small garden oasis and home in the middle of a summer camp.

Whenever she was able to pry him away from work and horses, Wendy and Johnny would travel, often to Ireland. They also enjoyed visiting with friends on the horse show circuit. Closer to home, there were dozens of campers who worshipped the "real live cowboy" and would return year after year to visit with them.

Johnny embodied qualities that we all seek to have. He was honest, trustworthy, even-tempered, self-effacing, generous and self-reliant. He lived his life honestly, his word was golden. We all learned a great deal from Johnny. The lesson of his life was to live simply, to be satisfied with what one has rather than to seek the unattainable, to be true to ones word, to learn something new every day and to work hard. He asked little of us who knew him but gave a great deal.

He will be dearly missed by all. Johnny is survived by his wife of 25 years, Wendy; sons, Chico, John Jr. (Corinne) and Rich; and five grandchildren. Johnny would say he was married for 35 years, considering his anniversary to be July 1976, when he and Wendy first got together.

A memorial service will be held Sunday, Oct. 30, at the Brandeis-Bardin Institute, Alonim dining hall at 2 p.m., 1101 Peppertree Lane, Brandeis, CA 93064.

In lieu of flowers please send donations to the Brandies-Bardin Institute's Johnny Varble Fund or the charity of your choice. The Johnny Varble Fund will be used to support the ranch and farming activities at the Brandeis-Bardin Institute.

Assisting the family with funeral arrangements is the family owned and operated Rose Family Funeral Home and Cremation of Simi Valley, 581-3800.