Bustamante

Steve “Stinky” Bustamante, 71, of Luling, was born in Edinburg on Aug. 23, 1948 to Esteban Bustamante and Teofila Morales.

He died Feb. 24, 2020, at Ascension Seton Hays Medical Center in Kyle.

A service was to have been held 11 a.m., Wednesday at Phillips & Lucky Funeral Home in Rockdale with Rev. Pedro Castillo officiating. Burial was to have followed in the St. Joseph Cemetery in Rockdale.

Visitation was held 5-8 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral home with a rosary at 7 p.m.

He married Christina Casarez on Aug. 19, 1967 in Lubbock.

Steve earned an associate of arts degree from the Los Angeles Valley College and a bachelor’s in psychology from Cal State Northridge.

His favorite activities were going to the movies, riding his Harley, working on camera equipment, working on his classic cars and harassing his grandchildren to remind them they were loved.

He was accepted by the Lord at an early age when he was baptized at Sacred Heart Church on Oct. 19, 1948.

Steve first worked at Traide Corp supervising the production of commercial photography cameras. In May 1971, he enlisted in the Air Force and served in Vietnam until June 1974 and later joined the Air Force Reserves until 1977.

He gained employment with Panavision Motion Picture Productions through sheer will and personality, where he led and innovated for 30 years.

Steve received an Oscar on behalf of Panavision for the development of the 65mm camera lens for the IMAX movie system. Steve retired in 2005 from the motion picture industry due to military service related injuries. After his retirement, he continued to be a major part of the entertainment industry through his employment with Miller Productions filming various Longhorn and NFL games.

He was preceded in death by his sisters Audy Bustamante and Aurora Morales.

He is survived by his wife Christina; sisters: Louisa Bustamante from Los Angeles, Estella and Mary Oritz also from Los Angeles and Connie Ortiz from Alabama; brotherds: David and Johnny Ortiz from Alabama; daughters: Norma from Los Angeles and Stefanie Bustamante of Luling; grandsons: Andrew Bueno and wife, Rosa of Japan, Christian Bueno and John Lawrence from Los Angeles and Dru Hettler and his wife, Rita of Lockhart; great grandchildren: Benjamin Bueno, Aubree and Addison Hettler and Alexandria Bueno.

His pallbearers were: Andrew, Christian, Dru, John and Carman Lopez and Steven Contreras from Rockdale.

Arrangements by Phillips & Luckey Funeral Home, P.O. Drawer 1417, Rockdale, Texas 76567 512-446-5454.