James Bumstead, a Williston Park resident who was a former president of the Mineola Chamber of Commerce and the Mineola Kiwanis Club, died on Sept. 8 at Glengariff Health Center in Glen Cove. He was 84.
James Hayes Bumstead was born Feb. 5, 1934, in Glen Cove to Muriel Hayes Bumstead and Henry Albert “Al” Bumstead Sr. He graduated from Oyster Bay High School, where he played tuba in the marching band, in 1952.
He volunteered for the Army during the Korean War, achieving the rank of corporal and earning the National Defense Service Medal before his honorable discharge.
After the Army he forged a successful career in banking, rising to the position of vice president of a branch of what is now Bank of America before his retirement in the late 1990s.
During his working career, he devoted himself to community service as an active member of the Mineola Kiwanis Club, of which he was president in 1984 and 1990. He also served as president of the Mineola Chamber of Commerce from 1985 to 1987.
Bumstead initiated the Chamber of Commerce bulletin in a process of revitalization. At the time he became president, the chamber had 80 paid members. By the time he was selected “Man of the Year” by the chamber in 1988, that number had grown to 150.
“Jim” or “Jimmy” to his high school friends, avidly pursued a number of hobbies and interests throughout his life, ranging from musical theater, Gilbert & Sullivan in particular, to motorcycle road trips. He was a music lover and an accomplished artist.
He also realized his lifelong dream of becoming an author after publishing “Pell of Oyster Bay,” a memoir of his childhood; “Tad’s Promise,” a young adult Christmas novella; and “Freddy The Frog’s First Christmas,” a children’s book illustrated by his daughter.
His longtime membership in the Audubon Society and Sierra Club reflected his love of nature, gardening and particularly birds, which led to his creation of a “squirrel proof” bird feeder.
Bumstead also appreciated his family roots and pursued genealogy long before the advent of online tools for this pursuit.
He is primarily responsible for holding a local construction company accountable for destroying most of the Van Sise Family cemetery in Woodbury. Bumstead was tenacious in his pursuit of accountability for the degradation of the graves, later accepting reality and ensuring the site where Bumstead and Van Sise forebears had rested will be protected in perpetuity. He designed a monument erected at the cemetery.
Bumstead is survived by his wife of 25 years, Adeline Ramolador Cheff; his sons Kirk James Bumstead and Ross Bumstead Christian, both of Virginia; his daughter the Rev. Heather L. Bumstead of Wisconsin; and his granddaughter Sarah Reynolds of Virginia. Also surviving are nephew Stephen (Sue) Volpe, brother-in-law Theodore Volpe, and niece Denise (Steven) Volpe Theiss.
He was preceded in death by his brother, H. Albert “Bert” Bumstead Jr., father, Al, mother, Muriel, and sister, Brenda Bumstead Volpe.
A memorial service and interment will be held at the Memorial Cemetery of St. John’s Church in Laurel Hollow on Sept. 28. The family will receive visitors in the cemetery chapel from 10 a.m until the procession to graveside for the service of interment at noon. In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to the Mineola Kiwanis Club; the Oyster Bay Baymen’s Association; or Bethania Lutheran Church, 4120 Wright Ave., Racine, Wisconsin 53406.
