Gaurdie Banister

Tribute to Gaurdie Banister Sr.

Gaurdie Sr. passed away on Monday April 6, just 12 days before his 89 ^th birthday. He grew up poor in New Orleans, LA on LaSalle Street where he met his wife Barbara Shannon. After returning from a tour of duty in the Air Force in Germany and receiving a call from a fellow airman, he and Barbara did the unthinkable and moved with their 4-month old daughter Gaurdia to Casper, Wyoming and soon after they had a son, Gaurdie Jr. They did not want their children raised in the segregated south. Gaurdie Sr. went from being a TV technician in Casper to the Equal Employment Opportunity Officer for the State of Colorado in Denver. He never received a college education but served as an adjunct professor in electronics and math at Casper Junior College. After moving into the equal employment opportunity profession, he served on the team in Washington, DC that created the race designations for the US employment system. Not bad for the Valedictorian of Booker T. Washington High School in New Orleans. He was a bright, passionate and compassionate man. He believed in the Lord and sang in the choir at every church he ever attended. He was a dedicated public servant and committed to civil rights. He braved death threats from the KKK as President of the Casper NAACP when he spoke out against the coach at the University of Wyoming when he kicked 14 black athletes off the football team for wanting to protest the policies of BYU. Gaurdie Sr. will be sorely missed. He is survived by his wife, two children, two brothers and two grandchildren. A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Macedonia Baptist Church in Denver food program in memory of Gaurdie Banister Sr. Contributions can be made by going to Macedoniadenver.org.

Pending Arrangements :