Edwin Russell Bassett Jr.

January 16, 2020

Edwin Russell Bassett, Jr., 83 years old, of Mannington passed away on January 16, 2020. Russ was born in Salem, NJ in 1936 and attended the Salem schools graduating in 1955. He attended Wesley College in Dover, DE and was in the class of 1957. Russ excelled in football, basketball, and track in college. He won a metal in the Penn Relays College Division in 1957. He also attended Davis and Elkins College. He joined the United States Marines Corps in 1958 and was assigned to the Special Warfare Amphibious Group in Little Creek, VA where he also spent time as a bodyguard and driver for 3 Navy Admirals. Russ was a longtime member of the Salem Country Club and the Washington Club. He served as Salem County Chairman of Ducks Unlimited in the 1960’s and 1970’s and then as Tri-County Chairman of Salem, Gloucester, and Cumberland Counties. He was then made New Jersey State Vice Chairman and served one year as New Jersey State Chairman. Russ was a birthright Quaker and belonged to the Salem Monthly Meeting of Friends. He served two different terms as a trustee. He also enjoyed serving on the Board of Managers of Friends Village for 16 years. Russ loved all types of hunting, especially for ducks and geese and he trapped for years in Mannington. He and his son kept their fishing boat near the Delaware Bay where it was enjoyed by the entire family. Russ also enjoyed long distance roller blading well into his seventies and biked throughout Salem County. Earlier he enjoyed long distance running and ran many races in the Tri-State area for 45 years. Russ spent 30 plus years with Southern Wine and Spirits, formerly known as Delaware Importers, a wholesale liquor and wine distributor in Wilmington, DE. He was a salesman before being promoted to Merchandise Manager in 1988. As a boy, he was one of the first members of the Salem Boat Club in the early 1950’s and helped in the construction of the original boat basin. He also drove a crash boat for the races at Oakwood Beach and was responsible for rescuing a drowning racer from his submerged boat. Russ played the snare drum in the Salem American Legion Band from 1951 to 2002 and marched in local parades. Periodically he enjoyed playing drums with the local band the Crescent City Stompers. Russ married the former Joanne Butcher from Salem and they had two children; Kimberly Patricia Whitehead (Husband Larry) of Odessa, DE and Edwin Russell Bassett III (Wife MaryBeth) of Shamong, NJ and had two grandchildren Ryan William Bassett and Emily Margaret Bassett. He was predeceased by his parents Edwin Russell Bassett Sr. of Salem and Elma Allen Bassett of Shiloh. He was dearly loved and will be greatly missed. A viewing will be held on Wednesday, January 22, 2020 from 6 to 8 PM at Adams Funeral Home, 64 Broad Street, Woodstown, NJ 08098. There will be a memorial service on Thursday, January 23rd at 11 AM at Salem Friends Meeting House, 200 East Broadway, Salem, NJ 08079. A reception will follow the service in the Friends' annex. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Friends Village at Woodstown, Attn: Arianne Hegeman, 1 Friends Drive, Woodstown, NJ 08098.