Paula Anchustegui

Paula A. Anchustegui, completed her 89-year journey with us on Feb. 12, 2014.

It was a journey filled with love, laughter, adventures, tribulations and successes.

She died, with her family by her side, of congestive heart failure.

Thursday, Feb. 20, a viewing will be held from 4-6 p.m. with vigil services at 6 p.m. at Rost Funeral Home, McMurtrey Chapel. Funeral mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 21, t Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church. Graveside rites will follow at Mountain View Cemetery in Mountain Home.

Paula was born Oct. 6, 1924, to Isidro Aguirre and Maria Bastarrechea in Ibarrangelua, Vizcaya, Spain. She was one of eight children.

Growing up on the family farm, hard work was no intimidation to Paula. She always gave her all, even to the very end.

In 1945, she met and fell in love with Gregorio (George) Anchustegui and they were married Dec. 1, 1945.

George immigrated to the United States in 1948, but she and their daughter, Josephine, remained in the Basque County. After working for four years for Bennett Brothers in Mountain Home, George returned to collect his wife and daughter and brought them to Mountain Home in November 1952.

During their employment with F.W. Bennett Sheep Co., Paula mastered the art of cooking. She was the cook at the lambing sheds and farms sites for the young Basque immigrants.

Also, during the '60s, George and she managed the Basque Hotel in Mountain Home. To many of these young immigrants, she became a second mother and a good friend.

After George's retirement from Bennett in the mid-'70s she was the custodian at the Elmore County Courthouse for 14 years.

In her lifetime, Paula was faced with a heart attack, open heart surgery, breast cancer and an aortic aneurysm. She tackled each with great courage and strength. Paula had such a desire to live that she overcame each one. She was a great role model and inspiration to her family.

After her retirement, she enjoyed spending more time in her vegetable garden -- growing those Basque peppers that everyone loved!

Her grandchildren were her greatest treasurers and she was quick to offer a helping hand if one was needed. We cannot count the number of blankets and bootie slippers she crocheted and knitted in her life. If you happened to mention you liked the slippers, she would whip out a pair in no time. Keeping her hands busy was most important.

Paula was a member of the Euskal Lagunak Basque Club of Mountain Home, Euzkaldunak of Boise, and Our Lady of Good Counsel of Mountain Home.

Survivors include: her daughter, Josephine Anchustegui, of Boise; daughter and son-in-law Esther and Francois Bidaurreta, of Petaluma, Calif.; a daughter and son-in-law, Elisa and David Knox, of Mountain Home; her treasured and beloved grandchildren, Greg (Jennie) Gridley; Gina (Robert Campbell) Gridley; Olivia Bidaurreta; Nicolas Bidaurreta; Carmen (Kelly) Forsmann; Kristina (Joe Harper) Knox; Michelle (Justin) Yochum, and great-grandchildren Jake, Madison, and Ella Jo Gridley, Alaia and Alazne Campbell, Alexa and Jake Forsmann, Emily and Jayson Harper and Reagan Yochum. She is also survived by three sisters and numerous nieces and nephews in the Basque Country.

She was preceded in death by her husband, George, her parents, Isidro and Maria, three brothers and one sister.

She was a blessing to us all and her welcoming smile and twinkling eyes will be sorely missed.

Memorials may be made to Euskal Lagunak P.O. Box 88, Mountain Home, ID 83647, or the American Heart Association, Western States Affiliates, P.O. Box 742030, Los Angeles, CA 90074.