CLASS ACT BOWS OUT—Tom Basinski lost his battle
with cancer, but he won the hearts of many with his courage displayed in
fighting the disease. Outwardly, he
seemed calm after hearing the bad news from cancer docs back in 2009, but those
of us who knew him saw the rage in his eyes.
“I’m really angry,” he told me the
last time I saw him, “But who do I punch?
No one. There’s no appeals
process with this verdict. I am thankful
for what I have and have had and I accept your prayers but I will not pray for
myself as there are too many far worse off.”
The
following article—written by his wife Judy Basinski—appeared Easter Sunday,
April 5, 2015 in UT San Diego.
Thomas R. Basinski, of Chula
Vista, CA, age 68, died of cancer Wednesday, March 25, 2015.
He was
born and raised in Flint, Mich., and was a 1964 graduate of St. Agnes High
School. He attended St. Paul Catholic Seminary and Saginaw Valley State
University in Saginaw, Mich. from 1964-67, then Assumption Seminary in San
Antonio, Texas and graduated from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio in 1969
with a B.A. in English Literature.
Upon
leaving the seminary, he became a member of the Flint, Mich. police department
for one year. He joined the Chula Vista police department in 1970, where he
worked numerous assignments including patrol, narcotics, vice, child abuse/sex
crimes, robbery and homicide.
He joined
the San Diego District Attorney’s
Office as
an investigator in 1987 and served in various divisions until his retirement in
2005.
Between
1984 and 1991 he wrote and sold over 125 stories to various pulp detective
magazines, notably True Detective, and Front Page Detective, until the demise
of the pulp industry. In 2005 and 2006 he wrote two award-winning stories which
were published in San Diego Magazine.
In 2006
and 2007, Tom authored two paperback true crime stories published by Penguin,
and more recently two cop story works of fiction on Amazon. Since 2009, until
his death, he was a columnist for the Chula Vista Star News (Behind Police
Lines).
He sat on
many literary panels during his writing career, was an accomplished, humorous
public speaker, and quite a character. He emceed many “roasts” and parties. He
could dance the “YMCA” like no one else!
Tom
umpired for many years for Parkview Little League, as well as officiating slow
pitch softball. He was a member in good standing of the Tom Club. In a last act
of generosity after his death, his corneas were donated to the eye bank.
Tom is
survived by his wife of 43 years, Judy (Wood) Basinski; sons Nick (Katie) of La
Mesa and Joe (Talitha, and daughters Madison and
Brooklyn)
of Murrieta; and brother Dan Basinski (Linda) of Arizona. He was predeceased by
his parents Ralph and Mima (Hoskin) Basinski, and brother Leonard.
Services
will be at 11 a.m., Saturday, April 11, 2015 at St. Pius X Catholic Church,
1120 Cuyamaca Ave., Chula Vista, CA 91911, with a reception following. Please
RSVP by April 8 to jbski@cox.net.
In lieu
of flowers, contributions may be made to the Friends of the Chula Vista
Library, P.O. Box 393, Chula Vista, CA 91912, or the YMCA at:
ymca.org/support/southb ay/thomas.
OTHER TOM BASINSKI POSTS.
In the
short history of this blog, several blogs featuring the fiction and essays of Tom
Basinski have appeared. Two sum up his
career and his battle with his fatal disease.
When you log on to Pillar to Post go to the search box and enter Tom
Basinski. His posts will appear.
Pillar to
Post blog:
“Tough
cop/author in trial of his life.” Feb.
26, 2013
“Damn the
luck, anyway.” Apr. 24, 2014
 |
| Available Amazon.com |
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