John Day Yeats, 80

John Day Yeats, 80, of Hayden Lake, Idaho, passed away April 17, 2021. John was born on Nov. 28, 1940, in Los Angeles, to Zola Kay (nee Reedy) and John Day Yeats. He graduated from Franklin High School in Highland Park, Calif., in 1959.

John married the love of his life, Dexter Josephine Yeats (nee Williams) on May 22, 1965, and again married on May 22, 2010. They were soulmates whose hearts found one another across the miles and years.

John worked for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, and as a volunteer firefighter for Northern Lakes Fire Department.

Motorcycles were John’s lifetime passion. He was an intuitive mechanic with hands that read engines with grace and skill, fine-tuning them to exquisite performance. In 1970 he was the lead mechanic for the Harley Davidson Team that broke the land speed record on the Salt Flats of Bonneville. He continued to work on race bikes, returning to Bonneville every year, where he taught the younger generations how to coax a little more from every engine. As John said, “There are things you don’t learn from a slide rule.”

He is survived by his loving wife, Dexter; children, Melania Yeats (Fred Hefner) and John Allen Yeats (Lori); and grandchildren, John (Jay) Avery Yeats and Allanah Taylor Yeats.

Yates Funeral Home is entrusted with final arrangements. Please visit John’s online memorial and sign his guest book at www.yatesfuneralhomes.com.