John M. Dias

Lifelong Hanford resident and dear father, grandfather and great-grandfather, John (Johnny) (Goose) Milton Dias, born on May 8, 1931, passed away peacefully with family at his side, on January 11, 2026, at the age of 94 from natural causes.  

Johnny was born at Sacred Heart Hospital on May 8, 1931, to parents John and Gloria (Salvador) Dias. As a young boy, Johnny attended Saint Rose Catholic School and Saint Brigid Catholic Church where he proudly served as an altar boy for the traditional Latin Mass. During these formative years Johnny loved playing with his two brothers and sister as well as school classmates, During hunting season his father would take him on local pheasant and dove hunting trips where he taught Johnny the fine art of bird-dogging always standing at his father's back-left side. This would eventually lead to actual hunting game with an old .410 Iver Johnson single shot shotgun and instilling in him a lifelong love of hunting with family and friends. The old .410 shotgun is now a prized family heirloom still in excellent working condition, used every hunting season.      

After parochial school, Johnny attended Hanford High School where, despite being the youngest and smallest boy in his class, he excelled in football and track events like the long jump, 40- and 100-yard dashes. After school he worked at Cassidy Shoes, where he learned the salesmanship skills that would later play a vital role in his life. 

After graduating high school in 1948, he attended College of the Sequoias, playing football and track. During this time he met the love of his life, Lucy Cardoza, while attending a Brigidites Catholic Youth Group dance, soon after they began dating steady however Johnny's athletic skills on the JC gridiron earned him a football scholarship to play running-back at San Diego State University. It was at SDSU where he earned the short-lived moniker "Crazy Legs Dias." Ol' Crazy Legs Dias and Lucy's courtship now consisted of phone calls and handwritten letters with occasional visits home on holidays. 

After one season playing football at SDSU, Johnny enlisted in the United States Marine Corps during the Korean conflict. He reported to Camp Pendleton in Oceanside for basic training ("boot camp") in early 1950. While attended boot camp Johnny, along with over 300 other Marines, showed up for the first day of football tryouts. By the third day there were less than 50 remaining because "they couldn't pass muster." By the end of the week, Johnny had made the roster. He said the Marine Corps played other branches of the military, some of which had professional NFL football players on their teams. Once his team scrimmaged against the Los Angeles Rams. After this scrimmage, a member of the Rams coaching staff offered Johnny a tryout for the Rams team after he was discharged from the Marines. During his enlistment when he wasn't playing football, he was a military police officer and fireman at different bases including Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and Combined Arms Training Center at the base of Mt. Fuji, Japan. 

 After his honorably discharged in 1953 Johnny returned to his hometown to be with Lucy, never trying out for the Rams. Instead, he began working at the old Farmers' Hardware Store. At this time Johnny and Lucy got engaged and, after a short engagement, they were married on May 26, 1954, in the original Immaculate Heart of Mary Church on Douty Street.  After a short time, Johnny's boss introduced him to Art Machado, a supervisor with the Granny Goose Potato Chip Co. Mr. Machado had already observed Johnny's hustle and friendly customer service skills, which he developed while working for Cassidy Shoes. Mr. Machado hired Johnny as a route salesman, a role he excelled at thanks to his strong work ethic and friendly, energetic attitude. It wasn't long before Johnny earned the moniker "Goose" by his family and close friends. 

In 1958, Goose and Lucy already added three boys to their family tree when Johnny was given the opportunity to purchase his route, warehouse, and truck from Granny Goose and become an independent contractor for them. Together they jumped at the opportunity and started Westside Distributing Company.  After just a few years not only did Goose and Lucy branch out with one additional son and a daughter but Westside Distributing also expanded beyond just potato chips to add accounts in new territories with products such as beef jerky, Mother's Cookies, nuts, hats, knives and more. Today, after going through market fluctuations, recessions, and a pandemic, Westside Distributing is still going strong after 68 years in business.  

Johnny was very proud of all of his five children and, amid the hustle and bustle of running a successful small business and raising a family with Lucy, he found time to help coach the boys' Little League and Babe Ruth teams as well as pass on a love for hunting in the great outdoors to his four boys, and later grandsons and son-in-law. After the hunt, he liked grabbing a chair with his favorite beverage in hand and sitting at the campfire to spread the balderdash with any and all who would listen, laughing the whole time. 

Johnny also loved doting over his only daughter. Whether it was being a flag bearer in a Portuguese Festival Parade she was marching in or driving her and her teammates around the state to gymnastics and cheerleading competitions, Johnny was always there for his baby girl. 

Like his father before him, Johnny was a lifelong member of the Knights of Columbus, Hanford Council 2343, where he enjoyed the fellowship and comradery working with his fellow Brother Knights.  

He was a proud veteran. You almost never saw Johnny without his USMC hat or shirt, and loved attending veterans parades and events throughout the valley. 

One of Johnny and Lucy's favorite activities to do together was spending time traveling to Reno, Laughlin, and Las Vegas where Johnny was known to make the pit bosses nervous when on one of his many "hot streaks." His strategy was always, "Bet 'em low when you're cold. Bet 'em high when you're hot." 

Being avid sports fans, Johnny and Lucy enjoyed watching many of their nine grandchildren participate in all kinds of sporting events. No matter if was baseball, basketball, football, softball, soccer, cheerleading or rodeo competitions, if the grandkids were competing, Grandpa and Grandma were always there.  

Johnny and Lucy spent 69 blessed years together until Lucy's passing in June of 2023. After Lucy's death, Johnny repented saying daily prayers and the Rosary for himself and anyone who asked him to pray for them. He knew Lucy went to heaven and he wanted to make sure he made it there too. 

Johnny was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Lucy; parents John and Gloria Dias; brothers Edward (Eleanore, living) Dias and Gene (Elaine, living) Dias; and sister Gloria (Joe) Gomes and (Al) King. 

He is survived by sons Johnny Allen (Gloria) Dias, Kenny (Ricci) Dias, Rodney (Teresa) Dias and Kevin (Karen) Dias, daughter AnnaMarie (John) Loogman; grandchildren Heather (James) Wisener,  Stefani Dias, Kenneth (Erika) Dias, Kody Dias, Blake Dias, Dana Dias, Allisha Coltra, Tegan Coltra, Brittany (Ellis) Sheldon, Tara (Hunter) Ahlberg and Jena (Hagan) Le-Loogman; great-grandchildren Carson Wisener, Kayla, Kenny, Kyle, Kendall and Loky Dias, Jadon Gonzales, Legend Dias-Lopez, Ever Evans-Dias, Memphis Craveiro, Birdie Walker, Guinevere Coltra, Riggin and Jagger Sheldon, Brenton Ahlberg, and a yet-to-be-named great-granddaughter due in March; along with numerous godchildren, nieces and nephews.   

Visitation will be held at Whitehurst McNamara Funeral Home, 100 Bush St., Hanford, on Wednesday, January 21 at 5 p.m., followed by recitation of the Holy Rosary at 6 p.m.  

The funeral Mass will take place at Saint Brigid Catholic Church, 1001 N. Douty St. Hanford on Thursday, January 22 at 10 a.m. followed by Christian burial at Calvary Cemetery, 11680 10th Ave., Hanford. Arrangements are under the direction of Whitehurst McNamara Funeral Home, Hanford. 

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