Roy Donald Bassette, Jr.

Roy Donald Bassette, Jr., 95, died on February 25, 2017 at St. Mary Home in West Hartford, CT with family by his side. A lifelong West Hartford resident, Don (also known as Don Don, Roy, Chief and Captain) was born on December 8, 1921 to the late Roy Donald Bassette, Sr. and the late Elizabeth Hubbard Bassette. He was predeceased by his wife of 60 years, Barbara Banks Bassette and his two brothers, John Hubbard Bassette of West Hartford (2002) and George Henry Bassette of Colorado Springs, CO (1974). Don attended Kingswood School, graduating in 1940. Together with several close friends, he founded the Tri-State Detective Agency. TSDA's amateur sleuths solved local misdemeanors, discovered the people behind neighborhood pranks and even located a missing person. As Chief, Don was featured in national magazines and was invited to visit the FBI in Washington, D.C. While earning his degree at Packard Business College in New York City, Don traveled across the Hudson to the Hackensack River where he learned to fly in Piper Cub seaplanes. He soon enlisted in the Army Air Corps and, after graduating from pilot training, was assigned to the B-26 Marauder. As a World War II pilot, he was a member of the 34th Bomb Squadron Thunderbirds. During his service he was awarded the Air Medal (10 clusters), Purple Heart, Presidential Unit Citation, European Theater Medal (6 battle stars) and the American Campaign Medal. From the time he was a youngster, Don loved letterpress and screen printing. After his service in WWII, he opened a small printing business which evolved into a division of Monsanto Company in Stonington, CT. There he headed Product Decorating where he and others pioneered the art of printing on plastics. He retired in 1982. While Don had a long career as a printer and graphic artist, his primary job was making others smile. From the neighborhood kids who were amazed at "Mr. Bassette's basement" where he printed, etched glass, vacuum formed popsicle molds, fixed anything and everything, and polished numerous stones, to the professionals who helped care for him in his last years, Don brought a particular joy to the lives of those he touched. Don is survived by three children; Libby Bassette Lennox and her husband Dean, of Chatham, NJ, Deborah Ann Bassette, Roy Donald Bassette III and his wife Bonnie, each of West Hartford. He also leaves six grandchildren and two great-granddaughters. A Memorial Service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 4, 2017 at the First Church of Christ Congregational, 12 South Main Street, West Hartford, CT. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations are suggested in Don's name to the Connecticut Historical Society.

Roy Donald Bassette, Jr.

February 25, 1922 - February 25, 2017