John Morrow Derby — a former reporter who started his own small town, community newspaper literally on his own kitchen table, and then turned his passion into a 60-year odyssey — has passed away.
The 87-year-old Times publisher died Tuesday morning (Jan. 9) near his winter vacation home on the beachfront of Bahía Concepción, in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur, according to his son, David, who has been on location and visiting with his father in recent days.
The elder Derby had indicated a desire to go on a fishing trip that morning, but he was found unconscious and unresponsive around 9 a.m. near the shore. A cause of death is still being determined.
Derby was the publisher of five local weekly newspapers, including the Merced County Times, the Atwater-Winton Times, the Hilmar Times, the Hughson Chronicle and the Waterford News. He also served as president of the parent company Mid-Valley Publications.
