The Basque Library was rededicated in the memory of Fr. Martin Minaberry, a founding member of the BEO on November 7, 2009.
ABOUT MARTIN
Fr. Minaberry was born on May 16th, 1937 in the Basque village of Ortzaize, Baxenabarre (Hortz Etcheberria sortetxea). His mother was Augustine Goyen, also a native of Ortzaize (Hortz Etcheberria etxekoa), and his father was Kaiet Minaberry, who was from Donostiri, Baxenabarre (Urruzpurria sortetxea). He was the ninth of their eleven children.
He studied at Gran Seminar of Baiona and was ordained a Roman Catholic Priest on June 29th, 1963 at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Baiona, Lapurdi. His first posting was as a chaplain at the Lycee of Marracq in Baiona.
Fr. Minaberry arrived in San Francisco in 1978 and quickly became involved in the local Basque institutions, as well as in NABO. He was a director of the San Francisco Basque Club for many years, and served as its President from 1981-1982. He was also one of the founders of the United States Federation of Pelota (USFP) as well as its first secretary in 1982.
After representing NABO in the 1982 Congress of American Basques, held in Donostia, Gipuzkoa, Fr. Minaberry became NABO’s International Chairman and the Basque Government’s main contact with NABO through 1991. He also served as NABO’s Calendar Coordinator for many years and wrote grant requests on behalf of NABO.
Additionally, he was a founding member of the San Francisco Basque Cultural Center (BCC), and one of the central forces in the creation of the BCC Educational Committee, which evolved into the Basque Educational Organization, Inc. He served as inaugural Chairman and was the main figure in establishing the Basque library at the Basque Cultural Center.
The BEO dedicated the library to honor Fr. Minaberry’s tireless efforts to the Basque community, his commitment to the preservation of its culture in the United States, and his foresight of our responsibility to provide tools for education.
Fr. Minaberry died on September 3, 2001 in Los Angeles.