Edwin J. Basilius

Edwin Jacob Basilius was born October 18, 1914 to Anna Katherine (Dietsch) Basilius and Edward Carl Basilius in Toledo. As a child, he was spunky: He and his brother Richie would sneak out of their Lucas Street house to play in the streets around Linck’s Hill. When his father died, Eddie took on work, driving horse-drawn wagons across downtown before school. He completed eighth grade at the old Gunkel School before taking on more work to help the household. While he went to trade school to become a printer, his lifelong career was in produce, operating his own food brokerage business, buying farm crops and selling to commercial customers. The last nine years of his working career he drove to Detroit daily for Bostwick-Braun, hardware distributors. Ed married Rose Marie Burdo on September 1, 1934 in Elkhart, Indiana. Together they had three children: LuAnn, Ned, and Mark, who Eddie blessed with his mixture of discipline, humor and love. He loved life and enjoyed people, often playing practical jokes or sharing advice on gardening and cars. Ed and Rose Marie traveled yearly to Arizona for the winter for many years. But most of all he enjoyed gardening, becoming known as the Tomato Man - growing and giving away Super Tasty tomatoes to neighbors, then staff and residents at Swan Creek Retirement Center, where he has resided since 2003. He also became known as the Candyman, for always giving handfuls of candy to everyone at restaurants, the retirement center, the doctors’ office and church. Prior to moving to Swan Creek, he lived in Waterville and on Fostoria Road in Curtice, where for decades he had an abundant garden and apple trees. He was a lifetime member of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Toledo, but recently joined Community of Christ Lutheran Church in Whitehouse. Ed was preceded in death by his parents, wife Rose Marie, brother Richie and son Ned. He is survived by his daughter, LuAnn (Fred) Shuman; son, Mark (Anita Richard) Basilius; grandchildren Karl Shuman, Karen (John) Gerhardinger, Megan (Bill) Weimer and Kyle Basilius; great-grandchildren, Katie Shuman, Quincy Rhodes, Ellise Shuman, Calvin Berger, Isabella Weimer and Blake Weimer. He is also survived by favorite nephews George (Tanis) Hockley and Jim Geldien (Mark Ficklin). Friends and family will be received on Saturday, August 30, 2014 at Community of Christ Lutheran Church, 6517 Finzel Rd., Whitehouse, OH from 10:30 am until the memorial service begins at 11:00 am. A luncheon will follow for all family and friends. The family would like to thank the loving, caring staff at Swan Creek and Hospice of Northwest Ohio. Memorial Contributions may be made to: Swan Creek Retirement Village, Hospice of Northwest Ohio, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Community of Christ Lutheran Church or Capital University, Columbus Ohio. Arrangements by Maison-Dardenne-Walker Funeral Home, Maumee. Online condolences may be shared at walkerfuneralhomes.com