Larry Dean Rector
Larry Dean Rector. Known by most as Dean, was born on November 11, 1969 in Bakersfield, California, to Vickie and Larry Rector. He joined his big sister Dana (now deceased) and soon became older brother to David and Donnie. He passed into the Lord’s arms on August 7, 2019.
He went to school at Vandalia, Pioneer Junior High, and graduated from Porterville High in 1988. He is survived by his parents, Larry and Vickie Rector, his wife of 22 years, formerly Tammy Jean Wilson, and one son Bailey Dean Rector.
His life was in fixing and working on things, most often things with wheels. Dean and his friends spent hours working on the trucks and pickups that were a big part of his youth. His father Larry says the boys would take his truck to the river to splash and roar around, often getting stuck, requiring Dad to go pull them out.
Once Dean tore up the push-bar on his father’s truck. Hoping to keep out of trouble, he took it over to Donnie Wilson’s. Donnie’s dad, Monte, straightened it out and even repainted it. Dean knew his dad would know there was something wrong if it looked that good.he started a lawn mower in the dirt in front of the newly painted pushbar trying to make it look sufficiently dirty. However, when Dad discovered one dent they were unable to conceal on the back of the bumper, all the boy’s efforts at hiding the damage were for naught.
In 1987, at the tender age of 17, Dean went to work for E.M. Tharp’s. He started out sweeping the shop floor, but soon advanced to changing oil, and repairing brakes.
Larry, Dean’s father, drove a logging truck for many years. Dean took it upon himself to keep Larry rolling. Larry says, “Anytime I broke down, Dean was there for me.” In 1988 Larry was hauling timber near Big Bear Lake. When he blew out the rear end in his truck, he called Dean. As soon as a replacement could be found, Dean drove to where his dad was stranded, replaced the broken rear end right there, and soon had Larry back at work.
Dean’s expertise and skills became of great value to Tharp’s. He was not only a highly skilled mechanic, but also a fast worker. A truck could be pulled into Dean’s corner of the shop one day, he’d have it tore down, rebuilt, and out of the shop the next.
As the shop foreman over 16 mechanics, Dean was not one to give orders with clean hands. As a working boss, he’d often be found under the truck alongside his mechanic, helping and teaching.
Not only was he a firstrate diesel mechanic, but also a welder and fabricator. If the right part wasn’t available, he’d make one. Donnie Wilson says he was instrumental in development of most of the custom four-wheel-drive trucks Wilson’s Transmission is known for.
The family bought a new camp trailer for trips to the sand dunes. Just having a place to sleep wasn’t enough for Dean. He soon had a compressor and pressure tanks mounted securely out of sight underneath, including a full-on tool box. Dean literally turned it into a portable mechanic shop, as well as having a place to sleep and eat.
He also had artistic skills as well as mechanical. Tammy tells of knocking down a bunch of wire uniform shirt hangers one day. She told to Dean he had to “do something” with all those hangers. The next day, he had taken the hangers, added some nuts and bolts, and welded up a model of a motorcycle.
Services for Dean will be held Thursday, August 15, graveside at Hillcrest Cemetery at 2:00 PM. Celebration of Life will immediately follow at E.M. Tharp’s 15243 Rd.192 Porterville, Ca. 93257.