- Date Of Birth: July 12, 1934
- Date Of Death: December 11, 2015
- State: Idaho
Nikaxi “Nick” Beristain
July 12, 1934 – December 11, 2015
Nikaxi “Nick” Beristain, 81, passed away peacefully at his home in Garden City, Idaho, on December 11, 2015, surrounded by his loving family. One of ten siblings, Nick was born in the Basque Country to Maria Eufemia Piquer and Jose Maria Beristain on July 12, 1934. He spent his childhood in Mutriku, Guipuzcoa, Euskadi. At seventeen years of age, he immigrated to the United States in search of the American Dream. After a four-day trip from New York on a Greyhound bus, Nick arrived in downtown Boise on January 6, 1951, on a snowy, cold day with $40.00 in his pocket. Thus, the journey began.
Nick’s first job upon reaching Idaho was tending sheep for Brailsford and Sons in the Hagerman Valley. He often referred to that job as the most peaceful one he ever held, even though he’d come from a fishing village and he “didn’t know what sheep looked or acted like.”
As a young man, Nick lived at Letemendi’s Boarding House. In 1952, on his 18th birthday, he had the good fortune to meet Alice Larrinaga at a dance held there. They married two years later on August 14, 1954, at St. John’s Cathedral and to that union four daughters were born, Diane, Teresa, Kathleen, and Mary.
He was drafted into the U.S.
Nick was a member of St. John’s Cathedral and the Basque Center, serving on the Center’s Board several times and as President in 1971. For many years, he enjoyed Sundays playing cards at the Center with his friends. Proud of his Basque heritage, he was just as proud to be a naturalized citizen of the United States. He was a talented gardener and cook who raised good looking vegetables, especially peppers, which he liked to compare with his friends’ harvests. He relished telling a great story and making others laugh.
In 1988, Nick suffered a stroke which compelled his early retirement. Despite that misfortune, he still appreciated each new day and often said he had everything he needed, finding continued happiness in his faith, family, friends and good food. Over the years, Nick still kept his unique character and ability to evoke laughter from his family and friends. For more than the twenty-seven years that Nick lived following his stroke, his wife Alice tirelessly tended to his needs without complaint or consideration of any alternatives. He often referred to her as “his rock.” That devotion reflects on what Nick meant to her and the rest of the family. He can take comfort in knowing his work ethic and strong will has been passed down to his children and grandchildren.
He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Alice Beristain; his sisters, Gurutzne (Cecil Jayo) and Begona (Eli Arrieta); his daughters, Diane (Bob Records), Teresa Beristain, Kathleen Beristain, Mary (Tom LaBere); his grandchildren, Alicia (Joe Rosales), Natalie Records, Elise & Patrick LaBere; his great-grandchildren, Olivia & Anna Rosales; and two nephews in the United States, David Jayo (Washington D.C.) & Koldo Beristain (Connecticut) as well as numerous nieces and nephews in the Basque Country.
“Agur Aita, maite saituztegu, Jainkuakin.”
