Story From Friends Of The Los Alamos CA Cemetery – Bastanchury

John and Georgia Bastanchury are buried together in the Los Alamos Cemetery.

John (5/24/1907-5/12/1985) and Georgia (20/20/1907-4/15/1992) Bastanchury

John was born in Refugio Canyon, moved to Los Alamos when he was six years old. He graduated from Los Alamos Elementary School and, in 1925, from Santa Maria High School before going into cattle ranching. In high school, John acted in the plays “Il Trovatore” and “Pinafore.” He was in the music club and was on the baseball, football, basketball and track teams.

John was a founding and life member of the Los Alamos Men’s Club. He was president of the Men’s Club in 1960 and ’61. He continued to serve on the Men’s Club Board afterward and served on the Old Days committee. He was a member of the Los Alamos Cemetery board of directors and was on the Los Alamos Elementary School board from 1962 to 1974. He was on the organizing committee and a board member of the Los Alamos Community Services District, which was originally located in a room at the back of the Los Alamos Meat Lockers, today the Los Alamos Market. He was also a member of the Los Alamos Grange and the Santa Maria Elks.

Georgia Dee Peoples Bastanchury was born in Sabinal, Texas. She married John and they moved to Los Alamos in 1949. She worked as a nurse’s aid at Sister’s Hospital in Santa Maria and at Camp Cooke from 1949 to 1953. She was a member of the Los Alamos Grange and the Santa Barbara and Madera Cowbells as well as an Elder in the Los Alamos Community Church. She was also a member of the Los Alamos Elementary School P.T.F. (Parents, Teachers and Friends).
In 1976, John and Georgia Bastanchury lived at 240 Centennial Street. They were Grand Marshalls of the 1971 Old Days parade.