Frank Eugene Bassett descends from #1B John Bassett of Connecticut as follows:
John Bassett and wife Margery
Robert Bassett and wife Mary
Robert Bassett (b. 1640) and wife Elizabeth Riggs
Robert Bassett (b. 1699) and wife Eunice Clark
Daniel Bassett (b.1743) and wife Elizabeth Bassett
Samuel Bassett (b. 1777) and wife Mary Caywood
John Bassett (b. 1816) and wife Ervilla Coomer
Eugene Bassett (b. 1840) and wife Elizabeth Hamlin
Frank Peck Bassett (b. 1871) and wife Marion Foster Hughes
Melvin Hughes Bassett (b. 1899) and wife Eleanor Sage
Frank Eugene Bassett (b. 1936
H.D. Oliver Funeral Apartments – Laskin Road Chapel – 29 March 2023
Commander Frank “Bing” E. Bassett
Commander Frank E. Bassett went to be with his Lord and Savior on the 21st of March 2023 after a valiant battle with an inoperable spinal tumor.
“Bing” was born in San Diego, CA, on September 3, 1936, to the late RADM and Mrs. Melvin H. Bassett (USN ret. Class of 1920, USNA). He attended Rogers High School, Newport, Rhode Island, and graduated from USNA with Eighteenth Company, class of 1958.
After graduation he posted to Surface Warfare School and initially served on Destroyer staff in San Diego. Initial orders were on the USS Orleck (DD-886), homeported in Yokosuka, Japan for 2 years. Bing was accepted to submarine school in Groton, CT in 1962 and upon graduation was stationed aboard the USS Sailfish (SSR-572) out of New London, CT. During this time, he met the former Bunny Buell of Waterford, CT, whom he married in 1964.
Bing’s submarine career intersected with the US Navy’s need for non-nuclear trained weapons officers and navigators in 1965. He attended guided missile school in Dam Neck, VA in 1965 and then to the USS Henry Clay (SSBN-625). After a three-year tour, he returned to surface warfare and served on the USS Newport News (CA-148) before posting to the Naval Academy in 1971, where he was an instructor in Seamanship & Navigation, eventually becoming Chair of that department.
In 1975 he was ordered to JUSMMAT (Joint US Military Mission for Aid to Turkey), Ankara, Turkey, during the Cyprus embargo, making this posting a challenging job. However, the family benefited from the multiple travel opportunities in Turkey and Europe where they viewed the assignment as a “gift.” Returning to CONUS in 1978, Bing took an assignment with CNET in Pensacola, FL, honing his gift for team-management and book editing.
He retired from the US Navy in 1984 and after a brief respite as house husband took employment with Tracor Marine and then Booz Allen Hamilton where he created his own team to train and undergird the Saudi Navy in their purchase of 12 patrol craft. During this time, he co-wrote and edited two professional books – “Farwell’s Rules of the Nautical Road” and “Knight’s Modern Seamanship.” He took early retirement from Booz Allen Hamilton in 1999, bought a motorhome and toured North America with his wife Bunny for the next six years.
Their favorite volunteer position was with the greater Yellowstone and Jackson Hole Visitors Center in Wyoming. The RV life allowed them to truly enjoy grandparenting as well as getting to know their children as adults. Bing raised three Labrador retrievers, two shelties, numerous cats and often claimed that “Jesus owned a lab.”
The happiest years in retirement were between 2005-2018 when they settled in Georgetown, Texas, in a Sun City Community. They joined Celebration Church where Bing served as a small group leader, lay pastoral counselor, and elder. Over the years, Bing served in many capacities in the Episcopal Church – his favorite being diocesan big brother to the teen renewal movement called “Happening.”
Above all else, Bing loved his Lord and his family. He leaves his favorite blind date, Bunny; three children: CDR Rob Bassett (USNR ret. Class of 1989, USNA) and wife Adrienne; Holly Robinson and husband, Chris; and CDR David Bassett (USN ret. Class of 1995, USNA) and wife Sandy as well as six grandchildren. He was predeceased by his sister, Patricia Pels, and his brother CDR Melvin Sage Bassett (USN ret. Class of 1953, USNA). “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
The family would like to thank the Great Class of ’58 tailgaters and their warm welcome of Bing’s sons, Rob and Dave, as they attended the football games as midshipmen.
A Celebration of Life will be held at Old Donation Episcopal Church on the 1st of April, 2023 at 1:00 PM. Bing’s internment will be at the United States Naval Academy Columbarium on the 14th of July 2023 at 11:30 AM.