Anthony S. Basso

Anthony S. Basso of Libertyville Services for Anthony S. Basso, 84, will begin at 10:30 a.m. Monday, at McMurrough Funeral Chapel, Ltd., 101 Park Place (Route 176, one block east of Milwaukee Ave.), Libertyville, going to St. Joseph Church.121 E. Maple, Libertyville, for a Mass at 11 a.m. Interment will be in Ascension Cemetery. Visitation will be from 2 to 8 p.m. Sunday, at the funeral home. Born Feb. 2, 1921, in Chicago, to the late Salvatore and Jennie Basso, he died Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2005, at Condell Medical Center, surrounded by his family. Tony attended Chicago's Austin High School and was an Army veteran of World War II. While on leave from the Army, he married Catherine "Toots" Alie on April 17, 1943. Tony retired from Johnson Motors as a machinist after 37½ years of employment. He loved sports and played softball on the company team. In 1950, he helped found the Libertyville Boys Club Football League, where he became head coach of the Yankees. He worked hard to expand the club to include a boys boxing division. He served as a coach for his daughters' softball team, the Larks, and his son's team, the Yanks. He was a founder, treasurer and a director of the Libertyville Boat Club (Lake Minear Beach) for 30 years. Tony was an active member of St. Joseph Parish, where he served as an usher for Sunday Mass and was vice president of the Holy Name Society. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus, and was a avid Chicago Cubs and Bears fan. He enjoyed dancing, music, puttering in the yard and socializing. After work he stopped daily at Rudolph's Drive-In. During retirement, he would join the "gang" for morning coffee at the Liberty or Townee Restaurants of Libertyville. Everywhere he went, he would make new friends. It was said that Tony Basso never met a stranger. Survivors include his loving children, Mary Kay Flynn, Judy, Kathy, Beth (Carl) Wright and Paul. He was the proud grandfather of Kate and Joe Flynn, and Joshua and Megan Wright; dearest brother-in-law of Della Keto (Vince) Belensky; dear uncle of seven nieces and two nephews; and will be sincerely missed by his countless friends. On April 17th of this year, Tony and his wife, Toots celebrated their 62nd wedding anniversary. Toots passed away three days later. For information, 847-362-2626.