Barbara J. Basilius

Barbara Joyce Basilius passed peacefully in her sleep on Thursday, December 15th, 2022. She was ninety-three years young. Weighted-down here on earth with canes and walkers, poor eyesight and a fading memory, there is no doubt she is back in the arms of her beloved husband Donny, dancing the polka, the stars in heaven her spotlight.

There isn’t much Barbara didn’t try in this lifetime.

An avid gardener, she surrounded herself with marigolds, geraniums, and when her son shipped them up from Florida by the boxful, gardenias. Flowers were her love language and she spoke volumes with the beds she tended and the parks she curated.

She had an insatiable curiosity for learning. Correspondence courses in calligraphy and handwriting analysis, belly dancing, ice skating, cooking, astrology and travel. Never one to miss an opportunity for exploring, she spent time in Europe, Hawaii, Aruba and cruising the Carribean. A lover of the sun, she found her happy place for years on Sanibel Island, basking on the beaches, walking with the tides, collecting sand dollars and periwinkle shells for her grandchildren.

When her own children were young she was the den mother of the block. Hosting pool parties, block parties, baking cookies, welcoming straggling friends with open arms and pierogis, rouladen, spare ribs a plenty. Christmas and Thanksgiving meals at the Basilius house were always a coveted invitation and Barbara made sure every guest had a stocking and a seat at the table.

And when she wasn’t mothering, she was dancing. Bells in hand, she could always be found at the Elks or the Eagles, step-hopping her way around the dance floor. She once said she would not marry her husband-to-be unless he learned how to dance, at which he promptly enrolled in lessons. The two lived happily, cheek-to-cheek from then on for 68 years until his death in 2017.

She is survived by her children, Dwight (Beth) Basilius, Pam Basilius, Scott (Deni) Basilius, Brian (Candy) Basilius, and her grandchildren Meagan (Jason), Drew, Kiersten (Yash), Molly (Ty), Nick (Erin), Alex, Mike (Victoria), Jade & Chelsea, and her great grandchildren Silas, Will, Zoe, Rilyn, Kason, Sophia, Olivia, Ella, and Bennett.

The family wishes to express their deep gratitude for the team at Brookdale Senior Living in Bowling Green for their loving care of Barbara over the years. The family is also immensely grateful for the services of Bridge Hospice Wood County at the end of her life and would kindly request that in lieu of flowers, donations be sent to Bridge Hospice, 15100 Birchaven Lane, Findlay, Ohio 45840, or to a charity of a choice in Barbara’s memory.

A viewing will be held on Saturday, January 7th from 9 to 11 am at Walker Funeral Home 5155 W. Sylvania Avenue Toledo Ohio 43623, followed by a prayer service and cemetery burial at Ottawa Hills Memorial.