Robert N. Bassett passed away July 7, 2013, at home in Palm Springs, Calif.
Bob always did things with flair — not perhaps the classy kind of flair his wife, Maxine, would have always preferred — but with a joy and enthusiasm that couldn’t help make her smile nonetheless.
You might have have thought Bob, born to George and Helen Bassett in the tiny community of Ontario, Wis., was destined to be a dairy farmer. You would have been wrong. Milking cows and the jobs associated with those tail-switchin’ bovines were activities Bob was eager to make part of his history, not his future.
In high school, he took college entrance exams and had the highest scores recorded for the University of Wisconsin, but he couldn’t afford the tuition, so he joined the Navy, promising Maxine, his high school sweetheart, that he’d be back to marry her as soon as he finished training. At enlistment, he tested very highly again and was offered the opportunity to attend Naval Officers’ School and train to become a fighter pilot. At that time, though, program participants weren’t allowed to be married; Bob opted to wed Maxine instead and was given his choice of assignments. That’s how a young couple from dairy farms ended up in Honolulu.
After discharge, Bob earned his BA in electrical engineering and entered the aerospace industry in its infancy, working on weapons for the Vigilante bomber in Columbus, Ohio, for North American Aviation (which eventually became Autonetics, Rockwell and finally Boeing). He and Maxine moved with their two daughters, Tonya and Sandy, to Orange (California), where Bob worked on projects including Gemini, Apollo, the Space Shuttle and, finally, Aegis anti-missile efforts.
Bob’s wild sense of humor and his practical jokes made him well known at work, especially in contrast to the more staid “engineer” personalities of many of his peers. But his quick mind, high level of technical skills — as well as his well-developed people skills — made him a valuable team member, and Boeing repeatedly called him out of retirement to help with special projects.
Bob loved golf, travel (anywhere at all counted!), discovering the best local happy hours, arguing just for the sake of it, exercising and trying new experiences. Most of all, Bob enjoyed people. He treasured Maxine, and they worked, laughed, and loved through 60 years of marriages. Family and friends frequently smiled as they saw Bob’s 6’2” frame bent down to kiss Maxine (at a tiny 5’2”) as she looked up to him in love. Bob consciously invested his love for life into Tonya and Sandy, spending hours with them at driving ranges, teaching them to drive stick shift on hills, encouraging hobbies like skiing and playing ukulele, explaining the intricacies of algebra and, most of all, modeling with his own life what to look for in a man.
Bob is survived by his wife, Maxine of Laguna Woods, Calif.; his sister, Jean DeWitt (fiance Rich Vieth) of Sparta; his daughters, Tonya (Mark) Dale of Paradise, Calif., and Sandy Bassett (fiance Bob Scherner and his children, Samantha and Henry) of Boulder, Colo.; two grandsons and their wives, Matthew (Daniel) Dale and Alden (Amy) Dale; and one great-granddaughter, Sonyah Dale.
He is also survived by sister-in-law Arlene Teal of Fulton, Ill., and nephews, nieces, cousins and friends.
A memorial service was held at Agostino’s by the Sea, San Juan Capistrano Beach, Calif., on Saturday, July 13.
If desired, memorials may be made to American Legion Post 132 Air Conditioning Fund, P.O. Box 214, Orange, CA 92866.
