PORT ST. LUCIE PEOPLE
DON H BESTOR JR.
Age: 70
Lives in: Port St Lucie
Occupation: Musician
Family: Wife, Deborah; Son, Trey
(Don III); Sister, Robyn Byrne
Education: Bachelor of Science
degree in music performance; an
Associate of Science degree in
hotel/restaurant management
Hobbies: Music, Golf
Who/what inspires me: “Young people, poorly managed
music operations/shows, etc…”
Something Most People Don’t Know About Me: “I love
animals …always have stray cats, (used to be dogs), I love to
cook gourmet type things”
BESTOR FAMILY COLLECTION
A well-known musical director, Don Bestor Sr. led the renowned Benson
Orchestra of Chicago.
Norwegian Cruise Lines where his trio headlined on a ship
based out of Miami. Bestor’s reputation for demanding the
best performance from his bandmates kept him booked in
one of the main rooms, but almost lost him a wife.
When the newest singer his manager sent him was having a
problem fitting in with their nightclub-type act, he wanted to
replace her. Instead, his manager suggested Bestor teach her.
“Debbie did a lot of Broadway and was sort of guarded,”
he said. “She wasn’t really up with the style of our kinds of
high-end shows where she had to be more outgoing with the
audience. She was a really talented singer, but not a nightclub
type. I had to get her to go out to the tables more to flirt with
the gentlemen and get the audience involved with the show.”
Bestor may have encouraged her to cozy up to the audiences
but when it came to the rest of the band, it was hands off.
“I fell for her the first day I saw her in 1981 and we married
in 1986.”
After a while, Debbie got bored when Bestor was working
and she was only singing for a few hours. When they did get
off the ship for breaks, they stayed at a hotel in Stuart and
came to know the area pretty well. Debbie gave him notice it
was time to quit because she missed her cat, Tara.
“She loved the cat,” Bestor said with a laugh. “I mean it
was a cool cat, but it was a cat.”
Port St. Lucie Magazine 47
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PIERCE
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