Tony Forster, 71; former mayor of San Juan Capistrano

Tony Forster, 71, a former mayor of San Juan Capistrano whose pioneering family owned the mission there in the 19th century, died Tuesday at Mission Hospital, according to Don Tryon, a friend and San Juan Capistrano historian. Forster had a brain aneurysm last month.

His great-great-grandfather John Forster, who changed his name to Don Juan Forster, was born in England and traveled to California, where he married the sister of Pio Pico, the last Mexican governor of California.

Don Juan Forster, a major California landholder, bought Mission San Juan Capistrano from the Mexican government for $710 in 1845 and lived on the grounds with his family until the U.S. government returned all of the missions to the Catholic Church in 1865.

By the time Tony Forster was born Sept. 3, 1935, the family had sold most of its land, but he developed a lifelong interest in the history of the area. The San Juan Capistrano native served as mayor from 1971 to ‘72, as well as councilman and planning commissioner, and was president of the San Juan Capistrano Historical Society until his death.

A graduate of West Point who served six years in the U.S. Army, Forster owned and operated an auto parts business and an RV storage facility.

Active in community groups, he was also a member of the Amalgamated Order of Real Bearded Santas and called himself the San Juan Santa, appearing at corporate and private parties at Christmastime.