services - Idyllwild Town Crier

Page 4 - Idyllwild Town Crier, July 17, 2008
Obituary
John M. Gissendanner
Our friend, John Gissendanner, passed away at around
3 a.m. Thursday, July 3, 2008, at home with his wife and
brother in attendance.
He was in such pain and mentally removed from all that
he called life. It is a great blessing that he is free from all
the cancer that held him here against his will.
I spent many of his last days at his side telling stories we
experienced together for more than 42 years of friendship.
Those stories we told we both knew by heart and never
tired of hearing.
I loved John, as we all did, yet for me, he was my best
friend. He influenced me in so many ways and loved me
even when at times I was most unlovable.
You can tell you have a best friend when that person
knows all about you and loves you anyway. He often said
to me, “I’ve known you the better part of my life, and the
better part of my life has been knowing you.”
His life is over and he’s gone, a tragic loss to all who
knew him. I’ve only begun to sense the loss and find there
are no words that help, but I have to express my great relief
that John has been set free. Free at last, free at last, thank
God almighty, he’s free at last.
My love to you all. Milton Russell French
Idyllwild Magazine is free
The Idyllwild Magazine & Visitor’s Guide is available free
at the Town Crier and at businesses throughout Idyllwild.
The Idyllwild Magazine & Visitor’s Guide provides information
to tourists and residents alike about hiking, camping,
local events, lodging and dining, and an array of other
local services. The magazine also features articles on some
of the interesting local people, issues and events that make
Idyllwild a special place.
Obituary
Flavil L. Basham Jr.
Flavil L. Basham Jr., 73,
of San Bernardino, died of
cancer at his home Thursday,
July 10, 2008. He was born
Feb. 24, 1935, in Daylight,
Tenn., to Flavil and Florine
Basham.
Mr. Basham graduated
from Pacific High School in
San Bernardino.
He was a crane operator,
and belonged to International
Union of Operation
Engineers.
Funeral services and
burial are scheduled for July 25 at the Montecito Cemetery
in Loma Linda.
Mr. Basham is survived by his wife of 53 years, Donna
Basham; three daughters, Brenda and her husband Jeff
Endicott of East Highland, Sheryl and her husband Rob
McGill of Bakersfield, and Becky and her husband Curtis
Bomgardner of Idyllwild; six grandchildren, Christopher
Wapniarski, Rachel and her husband Chris Lantay and
Nicholas McGill, all of Bakersfield, Megan and Russell
Bomgardner of Idyllwild, and Grayson Endicott of East
Highland; a great-grandson, Christopher Lantay of Bakersfield;
two brothers, William Basham of Bessemer, Ala., and
Wayne and his wife Mary Basham of Angelus Oaks; and
a sister, Glenda and her husband Pete Peterson of Three
Rivers.
He was preceded in death by a sister, Evelyn, and a
daughter, Sheilia, and her twins, Jasmine and Danielle.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations in his
memory be made to the American Cancer Society, P.O. Box
22718Oklahoma City, OK 73123-1718, or donate online at
https://www.cancer.org/docroot/DON/DON_1_Donate_Online_Now.asp.
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Check your tires. Properly-inflated tires are important
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Mountain folk
Jennifer Mc-
Ewen (right) of
Idyllwild was the
yoga teacher for
the international
Jazzercise convention
in New Orleans
last weekend.
The Très Jazz
Jazzercise International
Convention
was led by Jazzercise
founder Judi Sheppard
Missett, a part-time Pine
Cove resident …
Glen Ashcraft of Idyllwild
stopped by to show a
recent copy of AutoWeek
that featured our town in
the story, “The 50 Best U.S.
Driving Routes.”
This is the paragraph
on California: “Any list like
this one that doesn’t include
California’s Route 1 is suspect,
to say the least. But
those in the know eschew
the Pacific Coast Highway
(unless it’s Pebble Beach
season) and do this instead:
Take the 5 south, exit at
Route 74 (Ortega Highway)
at San Juan Capistrano, and
head east.
“This road goes all the
way through Hemet and up
to Idyllwild. From there, you
can continue over the hill to
Palm Springs, but following
243 north over to Route 10
is even better.”
Carol Acosta of Idyllwild
is giving the Town Crier a
regular update on her adventures
as a teacher in
Thailand.
“There was no school on
Friday, July 4. Instead, teachers
from the 13 secondary
schools in our district went
to Mae Sai for the day.
“The morning consisted
of awards to schools and
individual teachers, as well
as speeches. The birth of
America 232 years ago even
entered into a lengthy economics
lecture. The closing
admonition was, ‘Think
globally, act locally.’
“Following a much-anticipated
lunch break, everyone
Town Hall
Town Hall Recreation &
Sheriff’s Activity League
Present the
changed clothes
for an afternoon
of sports. It began
with a parade
around the large
park across from
the school and
ended back on
the blacktop on
campus. We were
led by the school
band, and carried standards
with the school names as
well as our own school flags.
I was drafted as the standard
bearer for Janjawitthayakhom,
and Chen, the Chinese
language teacher, carried one
of our flags.
“Activities included the familiar,
such as football (soccer)
and basketball, along
with some quite new to me.
In one race, participants tied
cords around their waists.
Long, skinny eggplants were
attached to the cords and
hung down between the runners’
legs. Each contestant
had a golf ball and the object
of the game was to maneuver
the ball down the field
and across the finish line. To
accomplish this, contestants
had to bend their legs, swing
the eggplant by moving their
hips and, hopefully, hit the
ball forward.
“Another game involved
two teams of two players
competing on dirt courts the
size of large volleyball courts.
Each player had three metal
balls 3 inches in diameter. A
small orange ball was tossed
into the court and became
the target. Think of a cross
between horseshoes, shuffleboard
and bocci ball and you
will get the picture. Winning
teams or individuals received
bottles of whiskey. Runners
up received beer.
“Once the sports were
over, it was time for dinner
and entertainment. This
dinner was similar to others
I have attended in that
the food was never ending.
There were appetizers and
drinks, followed by multiple
plates and bowls of food.
Considering the large lunch
See Folk, next page
4th Annual ISP Games
at Idyllwild Skate Park
Saturday, July 19th • 12:30 p.m.