NAPA

John Muir Hanna, a long-time Napa resident and grape grower, passed away peacefully on Saturday, Dec. 1, at the age of 98. He was the oldest surviving grandson of California's most renowned naturalist and conservationist, John Muir.

John was born near Martinez on March 15, 1909, the second son of Wanda Muir and Thomas Hanna. The family lived in an historic adobe home next to the large Victorian home of John Muir. Young John remembered his grandfather as loving children and always having candy for him and his brothers. After Muir's death, the family moved to Crockett and later back to Alhambra Valley, just south of Martinez.

John's first visit to Yosemite was in 1916 when he was seven years old. He and his older brother Strent, who was then nine, rode bareback and their parents and two younger brothers rode in a wagon. They traveled over Tioga Pass, north along Mono Lake through Bridgeport and then back west over Sonora Pass and back home. The next two summers the two boys spent their entire summers in Yosemite and Tuolumne Meadows with a foster brother who was 14. In 1919 the three boys rode from Martinez to Klamath Falls, Ore., along the west Sierra foothills. They returned by a more westerly route and traveled through Napa on their way to the Benicia ferry.

John grew up farming and learned to ride and handle horses before he was five. By the age of twelve he was cultivating vineyards and orchards with a team of horses. He started buying cattle with the money he earned using his team on outside jobs and planned to finance his college education in that manner. He entered Stanford University in the fall of 1928 as a business major. He also played on the polo team.

The Depression caused him to leave Stanford and he worked for a year with his father at the May Lundy mine near Mono Lake. He then went to Oregon and worked on a highway project near Florence and then on the Columbia River jetty where he rigged the cables to unload the large boulders that formed the jetty. He renewed his college education at Oregon State where he again played polo and also operated a riding academy with some friends. After two years he returned to California to help his father work the mine.

John began working at the American Smelting Company lead refinery near Crockett in 1937. He was the purchasing agent there until the plant closed and he retired in 1972. He married Virginia Young of Stockton in July of 1939, and lived in Berkeley until their son Bill was born in 1945, and then moved to Albany.

John never lost his dream of having his own ranch so in 1950, he and Virginia bought a 100-acre ranch northwest of Napa. Though the ranch contained a vineyard, it was not economical to farm so he raised cattle and prunes. He began converting the prunes to vineyard in 1969. He planted chardonnay at the suggestion of Mike Grgich and began selling to Chateau Montelena in 1972. His grapes have been in every vintage there, including the 1973 that won the "Paris Tasting" of 1976. After his "retirement" in 1972 he farmed full-time and by 1977, when Bill and his family returned after serving in the Air Force, he was farming nearly 100 acres of vineyard. He remained active in the vineyard operation for another 20 years and helped with the family's first commercial crush in 2000.

Shortly after moving to Napa, John joined the Napa County Farm Bureau. He was the president of the Salvador Farm Center and on the board of directors of the NCFB for about 30 years. He was one of the original drafters of the concept of preserving Napa's agricultural lands, which resulted in the Agricultural Preserve, and was a strong proponent of the Winery Definition Ordinance. His foresight was instrumental in the formation of the Napa Valley Grape Growers where he was a founding director. He also served on the board of the Napa County Farm Supply for nearly 40 years. In the late 1960s, he was appointed to the board of the 25th Agricultural District by Gov. Reagan.

John will be remembered as a storyteller extraordinaire. He loved to recount his many adventures and especially his time in Yosemite and Lundy. He is survived by his youngest brother Ross Hanna (Gladys) of Dixon; his son Bill Hanna (Claudia) of Napa; grandchildren, Michael Hanna (Leonora) of St. Helena and Kristin Hanna Maher (Brad) of Napa; great-grandchildren, Colton and Trenton Maher, and Gino, Gemma and Michele Hanna; and numerous nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held Friday, Dec. 7, 2 p.m., at the First United Methodist Church, at Fourth and Randolph streets, Napa. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, any donations in his name be made to the Yosemite Association, Yosemite Fund, Mono Lake Committee, Napa County Land Trust, or the environmental stewardship organization of your choice.

Arrangements are under the care of Richard Pierce Funeral Service, 1660 Silverado Trail, Napa. Family and friends may offer their condolences to the family on-line at www.rpfsc.com.