Thomas Bastis, former Ameron president, dead at 73
By Walter Wright
Advertiser Staff Writer
He was best known as a captain of Hawai'i industry, most recently as president of big concrete company Ameron HC&D.
Advertiser library photo
But Thomas Emil Bastis, who died at his home here Sept. 1 at the age of 73, was a multifaceted man of many gifts, whose accomplishments included designing a snowmobile for Hawai'i.
Thomas Bastis was named president of Ameron HC&D in 1982.
Born in Minneapolis, Bastis learned about snow early on, and his knowledge was tapped by the Boatel Co., a manufacturer of snowmobiles and houseboats for whom Bastis went to work in 1967.
He came to Hawai'i in 1972 for the Telecheck Co. after that firm bought out Boatel.
His executive talents and engineering background soon attracted the attention of Ameron, which hired Bastis to run its Maui operations before bringing him in 1979 to the headquarters staff in Honolulu where Bastis was named president in 1982.
At the head of Ameron, Bastis guided the firm out of the doldrums into the boom years of the late 1980s and into the consolidation of the industry in the early 1990s.
He was an early and thoughtful advocate of mass transit for Hawai'i. His civic contributions included government commissions and United Way leadership on Maui.
Bastis helped design two snowmobiles that set records for high-altitude operation on the slopes of Mauna Kea. They were dubbed Okole and Maluna for their habit of spilling riders into the snow.
He served in Japan and Korea in the U.S. Army from 1946 to 1950, graduated from Ripon College in Wisconsin with a bachelor's degree in mathematics and physics, and went on to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for a degree in business and engineering.
Bastis is survived by his wife, Ruth; sons Jonathan of California, David of Texas and Mark of the West Indies; brother, Charles, and mother, Evelyn, both of Minnesota; and four grandchildren.
A memorial service will be at noon tomorrow at The Church of the Holy Nativity, 528 Kalaniana'ole Highway. Casual attire is requested.
