Celebrating the life of Peter Bassler

Peter George Bassler drifted off peacefully one final time October 26th, 2021 at 9:32pm in iNOVA Hospital, probably to join his wife, Sharon Bassler, who had passed away in the same hospital several months earlier. Despite his kidney disease and her ovarian cancer trying to isolate them in separate hospital rooms, Pete always found a way to twist the arms of hospital staff into breaking the rules just this once to spend time with his highschool sweetheart. Pete’s romantic genes were probably passed down by his parents, the late Col. Richard A. Bassler and Anne Adele Bassler (Allen), who welcomed him into the world in Flagstaff, AZ on September 2nd 1950. The youngest sibling to John and Dianne, Pete grew up mastering his ability to get into and out of mischief. Thankfully he usually had a great dane or two to protect him from too much retaliation. As a military brat, Pete learned to live from a suitcase, something he would more than make up for later in his life when he got enough space to store as many random rocks as he wanted. He also developed a gift of gab from a young age, playing with the children of Japanese fishermen, even though they didn’t share a language. Life long friends remember him from his earliest days as a fun, happy, kid with a smile that could light the day and a laugh that sent ripples through a room. HIs enthusiasm for even simple things could make him and those around him bounce. Moving from Arizona to Colorado Springs to Japan and finally Virginia taught him to make friends quick and pursue love interests even quicker. It wasn’t long after moving to Fairfax, Virginia at age 13 that Pete was riding his bike to Sharon’s house on a daily basis, uphill both ways, convincing her parents Jim and Jean Marable that he had the stamina to keep up with the carefree spirit of his crush, Suzie. Despite the assistant principal who disciplined them for holding hands, on January 20th, 1973 at Oakton Methodist Church, Pete succeeded in marrying his high school sweetheart. Over the course of his life, Pete made pizzas, served in the Navy, drafted HVAC plans, and sold trinkets from a business he started. While Pete had many occupations, his number one job was always husband, son, and father. He started his job as father on January 12th, 1988 to his only child Robby Bassler. While Pete was entertaining his son with the strange and endless characters he invented, Robby learned quickly to channel his dad’s courage to be his truest self, no matter how weird it may be. Pete found that he was excellent with kids and went on to acquire a whole entourage of puppets that he used to tell stories at the local elementary school long after his son had graduated. His favorite puppet was one named Ralph whose talent to vomit fake cookies only to eat them again delighted the first grade classes almost as much as it delighted Pete. As a son, Pete took great pride in working alongside his dad as they built the home Dick and Anne had always dreamed of. Even after his parents had retired to Greenspring Retirement Home, you could find Pete by their side helping write stories about the latest floppy disc technology or mischievous squirrels in the neighborhood. The death of his parents hit Pete quite hard, but he spent the remainder of his days wearing the strange Finnish sweaters that his dad collected over the years and reminding everyone about the years during his childhood that his family of five traveled the country in a converted school bus motorhome, before it was cool to do so. When he wasn’t going to dialysis for his kidney disease, Pete was making up names and backstories for all of the local deer and telling his wife how much he loved her. It is no wonder that Pete was in a hurry to be reunited with his wife of almost 50 years after spending the last months of her life glued to her hospital bedside. Up until his final day, four months after Sharon had passed, Pete would tell his son to “tell your mom I’m okay.” We are sure he is now telling her for himself. Pete will be joining his mother and father in Arlington National Cemetery with an inurnment in the columbarium in 10-16 months. The best way to honor the life of Pete would be to pass along a story to a loved one; however, if you would like to make a contribution, we encourage you to donate to American Kidney Fund, the organization that helped to make his treatment possible. Please check back in about a year for the details of services to remember the many stories of Peter Bassler.