Joseph Nicolas Basile died on Dec. 27, 2023, at Hartford Hospital after a brief illness. He was born in Bristol, on March 25, 1931, and was educated in the Bristol School System.
He graduated from Trinity College in 1953, and earned a Master’s Degree from Trinity in 1954. He earned his Sixth-Year Certificate in Educational Administration from the University of Hartford in 1973.
Joe was a proud veteran of the U.S. Army, having volunteered for the Korean conflict and served as a telegraph operator in France from 1954 to 1956.
Joe worked in the Bristol Public Schools for thirty-six years as a teacher, coach, guidance counselor, and administrator, and was proud to serve the young citizens of our community. His noted achievements were many firsts for the Bristol School System. He was the first teacher to volunteer to teach a foreign language, French, in an elementary school, while teaching at Bingham School in the late 1950s.
In 1969, he was named the first guidance counselor in a K-8 school at Westwoods School. While Vice Principal at Stafford School, he was instrumental in converting two classrooms into a library and introduced computer course scheduling for seventh- and eighth-grade students, a novel idea in the 1970s.
As an administrator at Northeast School, he gained state-wide recognition for developing an interdisciplinary unit centered around breadmaking with the aid of the King Arthur Baking Company. Some 260 students participated in this teaching unit that related breadmaking to every subject they were studying, resulting in over 260 loaves of bread being donated to local charities.
As chairman of the citywide Home Economics Curriculum Committee, he helped develop an updated home economics teaching curriculum for high schools in Bristol.
From his years as a waiter at Lake Compounce during the Big Band era, Joe loved to listen to jazz music. He attended many concerts given by bands of the United States Armed Forces. His love of music led him to encourage his children and grandchildren to play instruments and to participate in band and orchestra programs. Right up until very recently, he never missed a concert of the Bristol Brass & Wind Ensemble or a musical performance at the Bristol Public Library.
Above all else, Joe was a devoted caretaker — for his mother, for his wife’s parents, for his wife Angela, and for his three children. He fostered a love of learning in his children and provided them with support and guidance as they made their way in their academic and professional careers.
His caretaking nature could be seen in how he chose to spend his free time. He enjoyed cooking healthy meals for family and friends, particularly the challenge of trying new recipes. Having learned tailoring skills when he was a young boy, he liked to mend clothes for family members, whether it be a simple hem or a complicated zipper. But his favorite and most productive hobby was gardening.
Every summer his garden was filled with robust tomato plants, tender lettuce, and Italian spices. It brought him great pleasure to share his juicy tomatoes with family and neighbors and to use what he grew as ingredients in his cooking. Joe prided himself on a healthy lifestyle. He walked daily and worked out at the Boys Club faithfully. He ate a Mediterranean diet before it was fashionable.
Joseph is pre-deceased by his wife Angela of almost fifty-nine years, his mother Mafalda Basile, and his brother Anthony Basile. He leaves his three children and their spouses: his son Joseph Basile, Jr. and his wife Julie Basile of Bridgeport, Conn.; his son John Basile and his wife Caelah Basile of Norfolk, Mass.; and his daughter Mary Beth Chopas and her husband James Chopas of Concord, Mass. Joseph leaves four grandchildren: Nicolas Basile, Justin Basile, Maria Chopas, and Sophia Chopas. He also leaves his cousins Mary Ann Giannelli and John Basile, both of Windsor Locks, Conn.
The family would like to extend their sincere thanks to the wonderful aides from A New Hope Caregiving Alliance of Bristol.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024, at 11:30 a.m. at St. Gregory the Great Church, 235 Maltby St., Bristol.
Burial will follow at Riverside Cemetery, 160 Garden St., Farmington. Relatives and friends may call at Funk Funeral Home, 35 Bellevue Ave., Bristol on Thursday between 10 and 11 a.m.
Donations can be made in honor of Joseph Basile to the Boys & Girls Club of Bristol, 255 West St., Bristol, CT 06010.
Please visit Joseph’s memorial website at www.FunkFuneralHome.com.
All TBE readers, supporters and donors
The Bristol Edition will be limiting the number of stories non-members and free readers may access each week. This decision is based on our financial projections and, most certainly, to remind people that TBE is serious about providing accurate, timely and thorough reporting for Bristol. To do this we have devised a financial support structure that makes unlimited access extremely affordable, beginning with a $6 monthly donation.
- Non-members will be able to access four (4) articles per week.
- Free readers and people who have subscribed by email will be able to access four (4) articles per week.
- Donors and financial supporters will have unlimited access as long as they log in.
Note: Donors may have to contact TBE if they find they are being limited, since we will need to set up a membership account for you. Email editor@bristoledition.org for instructions. Sorry for any inconvenience. People with financial difficulties may write editor@bristoledition.org to be considered for free access.