Obituary of John A Bandeka

John A. Bandeka, Sr. was born to Lucy (Laguna Pueblo) and Angus (Zuni Pueblo) Bandeka on August 9, 1938, He passed on November 24, 2021 and was a resident of Rio Rancho, NM at the time of his death.

He was the oldest of eight children and was preceded in death by his parents (named above), two brothers Louis (Bobsey) and Harold (Bobby), and his wife Mary.

He is survived by his children, Tammy, Diana Kersey, and John Jr., his grandchildren, Brandon (Alex), Lauren Kersey and Erica & her husband Wesley Clanton, and John’s great-grandson, Jackson Clanton, sisters Margaret Eriacho, Cheryl Girdner and their brothers Arthur (Art), Henry, and Daryl. He also leaves behind numerous extended family members.

Being the son of Santa Fe Railroad employees; his mother Lucy worked as a secretary for the US Marine Base and US Army and his father, Angus, was a machinist who played trumpet for the Santa Fe Railroad Indian Band. John also played trumpet with the band.

John attended grade school at Saint Catherine’s Indian School in Santa Fe and when the family relocated to Barstow, CA, he eventually graduated from Barstow High School where he played the trumpet and was a member of the track team. Later he attended college at California Polytechnical Institute where he studied electrical engineering and received a bachelor’s in mathematics.

He enlisted in the United States Army in 1963 and was stationed in Paris, France when JFK was assassinated. In October of 1965 he transferred to the United States Army Reserves.

Throughout his career, he worked for many technological companies, (i.e., IBM, Vector General, and Tektronix), spanning many years and several states from both the west and east coasts. He relocated to Albuquerque, NM in 1983 and retired from Instrument Service Laboratories (ISL), in October 1998.

He had a wide variety of creative hobbies; for many years he was a wood worker and musician and towards the end of his life he also found interests in writing, drawing, and painting.

He was very involved with his church life and was very free with sharing his testimony; proudly referring to himself as an “Ambassador of Jesus Christ of Nazareth”.

Please join us on 11:30am, January 29, 2022 at The Transformation Epicenter at: 4001 4th Street NE, Albuquerque, NM 87107, to celebrate his life.