Don Garate Remebered
Don Garate, one of the founders of the Anza Trail Coalition of Arizona, Interpretive Specialist for Region 1 and Chief of Interpretation at the Tumacácori National Historic Park, underwent surgery for a brain tumor on July 4, 2010 and left us in September.
The below was written by
Lisa Carrico, TNHP Superintendent
Tumacácori National Historical Park mourns the loss of Don Garate, the park's long-time chief of interpretation. Don passed away on September
21st after a courageous struggle with brain cancer. He was 59 years old.
Don grew up on the Madeline Plains in Lassen County, California, and was the third generation of Garates to have lived on the family cattle and
sheep ranch east of Ravendale. In addition to working on the ranch, Don taught Basque language and culture at Lassen College and published two books about the Madeline Plains.
After years of ranching, Don began his Park Service career as a purchasing agent at Zion National Park in 1987. He transferred to Tumacacori National Historical Park in 1990, where he served as the park’s historian and chief of interpretation. Don devoted his professional career to learning and sharing his knowledge of the history of Tumacácori. He was fluent in English, Spanish and Basque — and he had a worldwide network of professional contacts, all of whom were invaluable in his efforts. He was tireless in his pursuit of facts and committed to telling the stories of Tumacácori . Don developed “Mission 2000,” a database that contains church records from 1684-1848 for all births, deaths, marriages, baptisms, etc., as documented by the priests who served at the Guevavi, Calabazas and Tumacácori Missions. Don played a major role in the development of the park’s new museum exhibits, researching and writing much of the text for the exhibits. He was a prolific writer—and published 24 books and numerous articles for magazines and professional journals. In 1992, Don was the Freeman Tilden Award winner for the Western Region.
Don was known to many as Captain Juan Bautista de Anza. Drawing on his tremendous knowledge of Captain Anza and Spanish Colonial history, Don presented first person living history programs at various historical sites, events and meetings in the US and Mexico.
Don will be missed by his many friends and colleagues. He is survived by his wife, Alice, his six children and 15 grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his father and an infant granddaughter.
Don will be remembered as someone who was quick to volunteer his time and talents, whether it was to give special tours on his day off, play music for residents of a local nursing home, donate blood (Don had a rare blood type), or assist a family with becoming United States citizens. He was a larger than life figure at Tumacácori and his influence and energy extended
well beyond the boundaries of Tumacácori. Although his loss will be deeply felt, his legacy of honesty, generosity, and dedication to his work and to his family will be long remembered.