Michel Francois Amestoy Jr.

AMESTOY, Michel Francois Jr. passed away Wednesday, April 3rd, peacefully at home with his family. Mr. Amestoy was born in Los Angeles on September 10, 1910, and was the last surviving grandchild of Domingo Amestoy, who arrived in California from the Basque Country in 1847. The Amestoy Rancho is now Los Encinos State Historic Park.
Mr. Amestoy was graduated from Loyola University and was nominated for a Rhodes Scholarship. As World War II loomed, he embarked on a career of documentary film writing. When he joined the Army Air Force he was posted to, the First Motion Picture Unit in Culver City. The first training film to be shown in movie theatres was his `Safeguarding Military Information,' a classic in the genre. As a member of the Writers Guild of America, Mr. Amestoy enjoyed a distinguished career in his chosen field, which included a year in India writing films for the U.S. State Department. Among many assignments for the Sutherland Studios in Hollywood were a series on the California Missions, a series on Conservation with Joseph Wood Krutch, and the `Live Better Electrically' campaign for General Electric. Mr. Amestoy is survived by his wife of 59 years, Helen Monnette; three daughters, Helen (Kami) Lee of Guatemala City, Margot Antinoja of Bainbridge Island, Washington, and Michele Amestoy of West Los Angeles; and two grandchildren, Margot Renee Lee and Juan Miguel Lee. The Rosary will be said at the family home of 58 years in Cheviot-Hills at 7:30 PM Friday, April 5th. The funeral mass will be at 10 AM Saturday, April 6th at St. Timothy's Church at Pico and Beverly Glen. Interment will be at Inglewood Park Cemetery in the Monnette family plot.