Obituary of Paul Edward Basham

Paul E. Basham, age 84, of Nokomis, Florida, passed away on January 22, 2023.  He was born in Indianapolis, Indiana on November 2, 1938 and was a former resident of Chagrin Falls, Ohio for 19 years before he moved to Nokomis.  Paul was formerly the Vice President & Chief Financial Officer for BP Chemicals and served in the Army National Guard Military Police.  He graduated from Howe High School in 1956, graduated from Butler University in 1960 where he played football for both.  He was a member of Sigma Chi Fraternity for 65 years.  Paul coached Brad’s baseball teams at St. Alban’s Little League and Arlington Youth Football League where Paul and his twin brothers went undefeated for 3 years straight with the Vikings!

Working at Commercial Filters is where he started his 30 year career with British Petroleum and through the years were Carborundum, Kennocott Copper, Sohio and Amoco. After Paul retired in 2000, he moved back to Indiana to spend time with family and friends for 5 months out of the year, and the 7 cold months Paul was in Florida spending time with family and friends.  He spent his retirement playing golf, singing in barbershop choruses, and exercising and of course spending time with his family. Paul never stopped working after he retired; he continued to serve on boards and committees such as Mission Valley Country Club, Venice Gondolier Barbershop Chorus in Florida and the Chordlighters Chorus in Franklin, Indiana.  He also was a member of the Mission Valley Missionaires singing with his wife.

Paul loved sports…he attended the Indianapolis 500 for 20 years and only gave up his tickets because of moving to New York. The dedication for all sports, high school, college, professional, baseball, football, basketball, golf, tennis, wrestling, soccer, in person…….BUT, MAN IF IT WAS ON TV….HE WOULD WATCH IT and would be rattling off statistics and what they should’ve done better. The only thing he loved more than sports was his grandkids. He would always say “I had three good years right in a row Taylor, Bobby and Tanya.” He would do anything for his grandkids. He would wash his car so he could take them to get ice cream. You couldn’t eat it in his car, but you could listen to the Stand By Me sound track beat by beat. Then came along his great-granddaughters and he was always excited to see them.

Paul is survived by his loving and devoted wife of 62 years, Judith (Pruitt) Basham; daughter, Dawn Basham; granddaughter, Taylor Thomas; great granddaughters, Elizabeth Rowland and Paisley Rowland of Ohio; grandson, Robert Basham of California; granddaughter, Tanya Thomas of Florida and long list of beloved family and close friends.  Paul is preceded in death by his mother, Pauline Perry; his father, John T. Basham; two brothers, Jonnie R. Basham and Ronnie J. Basham and his son, Bradley E. Basham.

A viewing will be held at Shirley Brothers Washington Memorial Chapel from 11:00AM-2:00PM with the funeral service to immediately follow on Saturday, February 11, 2023. A graveside service will follow at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis.  Memorial donations may be made to the Parkinson’s Foundation, 200 SE 1^st Street, Suite 800, Miami, Florida 33131 or to the Dementia Society of America, P.O. Box 600, Doylestown, PA 18901.