J Bautista, 73, passed away due to natural causes at his residence on Wednesday, December 25, 2024.  Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, January 9, 2025, at Holland and Bonine Funeral Chapel.  Holland & Bonine Funeral Home has been entrusted with services and arrangements.

J was born on May 5, 1951, in Guerrero, Mexico, to Santiago and Antonia (Hernandez) Bautista.  He was raised in Guerrero, attending school there.  On December 29, 1970, J married Paula Castillo, and they had their first two children.  In 1972, the couple moved to Los Angeles, CA, where their remaining four children were born and all were raised.  J worked as a machinist for A & B Brush Company for 45 years, retiring in 2017, when his medical issues required him to slow down.  He and Paula moved to Havre to join their son and daughter in 2019.

J was an upbeat, outgoing man who was always joking.  He was a hard-working and well-respected man in the neighborhood in which they spent the majority of their life.  In his younger years, he enjoyed baseball and soccer, and was pretty good at those sports.  J enjoyed visiting the casinos, but his family was his world.  He absolutely adored them, and was very proud of his daughter Doraluz for her service in the US Army.

He was preceded in death by his grandson, Armando Bautista; parents, Santiago and Antonia Bautista; and sister, Josephina Bautista.

J is survived by his wife of 54 years, Paula Castillo Bautista, of Havre; children, Alfredo Bautista of Clearfield, UT, Doraluz Bautista of Los Angeles, CA, Herminio Bautista of Havre, Edward Bautista of Clearfield, UT, Elizabeth Bautista of Havre, and Evelyn Bautista of Pottstown, PA; fifteen grandchildren; sister, Felicita Bautista of Los Angeles, CA; several nieces and nephews; and many, many friends.