Dean Jay Bontrager, born June 7, 1945, passed away on the evening of Sunday, March 28, 2021, surrounded by family and friends, in Hutchinson after a valiant three year battle with cancer. He finally took the checkered flag into the great beyond.
Born to Simon and Clara (Schrock) Bontrager in Hutchinson he was preceded in death by his parents and older brother, Doyle Bontrager.
Dean is survived by: brother and sister-in-law, Bill and Mary Bontrager; his four sons, Eric and Krista Bontrager, Stuart and Brooke-Lynn Bontrager, Scott and Barbie Bontrager, and Johnny and Nicci Bontrager; and 16 grandchildren, Jordan and Jake Stiverson and Ethan, Owen, Jazzy, Colby, Tyler, Carly, Chloe, Brooklyn, Jack, Simon, Grace, Ruby, Mary and Ella Bontrager.
Dean grew up in Hutchinson and graduated from Hutchinson High in 1963. He served in the Army National Guard during Vietnam. Dean loved all things racing, especially Sprint Cars. Dean was involved in racing in some form or fashion throughout his entire life, beginning just after high school when he and lifelong friend, Jay Wilbeck, built a drag car they raced for several years before his service in the National Guard.
Dean later raced Corvettes in the 70’s and began dirt track racing in the 80’s with Clay Bontrager. They raced Late Models in the early 80’s and Sprint Cars from the late 80’s and late 90’s, and won the Hutch Nationals in 1995, the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. Dean continued racing with Mike Woodruff and won the NCRA Sprint Car Championship in 2004, another major racing highlight. He always said he was lucky enough to live through the golden age of hot rodding and was consistently called on to build race engines for everything from dirt cars to land speed cars.
Dean became fast friends with nearly everyone he met. His signature humor endeared him to the many nurses that treated him during his fight with cancer. Dean found a way to laugh and joke, even through the pain, right up to the end. He was a loving father, son, brother, grandfather, and a mentor to the next generation of hot rodders.
Funeral service will be 11 a.m. Thursday, April 1, 2021, at Journey@Yoder Mennonite Church, 3605 E. Longview Road, Haven. Burial will follow in the church cemetery. The family will receive friends, prior to the service, from 9-11 a.m. Thursday, April 1, 2021, at the church.
The service will be Facebook Live on the churches’ Facebook page. To view the service click here.
If you are able, please bring a picture of Dean with your favorite memory written about him on the back for a memory board for the family. Funeral attire will be Dean’s signature blue jeans and race t-shirts and in honor of him, please drive your hot rods to the funeral.
In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to the Cancer Council of Reno County, in care of Elliott Mortuary, 1219 N. Main, Hutchinson, KS 67501.