Eugene J "Gene" Bastedo

Eugene J. Bastedo, age 72, passed away February 1, 2024, after a long illness. Gene was born March 15, 1951 in Smithtown, NY to Eugene and Doris Bastedo. He was the only child of two only children, and had no first cousins – a piece of personal trivia he loved to share. After that quiet childhood, Gene went on to enjoy 47 years of marriage to Beth Hotze, a farm girl from a family of nine children in Teutopolis, IL. He spent his life captivating those around him with stories and left this world beloved by many.
The first in his family to attend college, Gene graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1973. As immortalized in the words of Dr. Tom Dooley at the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes on campus, "Notre Dame was twice on his mind and forever in his heart. That grotto was the rock upon which his life was anchored." Truly, Notre Dame became a part of Gene's soul, and the location of many of our most cherished memories.
Gene enjoyed professional success, working in internal audit at Peat Marwick Mitchell (now KPMG, Chicago, IL), Trinova (Toledo, OH), and finally as a Senior Vice President at FedEx in Memphis, TN. He is a past president of the University of Notre Dame Alumni Association, and proudly served on the Board of Trustees for Christian Brothers High School in Memphis.
In order to maximize time dedicated to attending sporting events and with his growing family, he retired in 2011 at the age of 60 and moved to Chicago, IL, "one of the best decisions of his life."
An enthusiastic storyteller, everyone stopped to listen to Gene's stories, regardless of how many times they had heard them before. Gene had a deep interest in every person he met, peppering them with questions about their life stories and where they attended high school, details he would actually remember and recount on future meetings. Gene became a favorite of all his kids' friends.
Gene will be remembered as a remarkable, at times bordering on obsessive, sports fan. A Yankees turned Cubs super fan, he kept score at every major league game he attended and recorded the details of each game in a notebook that he kept throughout his life. His family and dear friends will always remember our celebration of his 1000th Major League Baseball game at Wrigley Field on July 6, 2021.
Gene was an affectionate and fun-loving dad and "Papi" to his five children and ten grandchildren, Brian Bastedo (Emily Todd, Charlie and Elliott Bastedo), Laura Bastedo Torchen (Steve Torchen, Grace, Ryan, and Claire Torchen), Jill Bastedo (Sofia and Julia Miller), Erin Bastedo Gocke (Sean Gocke, Lauren, Anna, and Caroline Gocke), and Megan Bastedo. Gene infused a sense of joy in his family, whether it was rough housing with a "hockey fight" or "pile up," or his over enthusiastic fandom of his kids' – and eventually grandkids – various sports activities.
When Gene knew he was dying, he bravely faced what was next and summed up his life with, "I think I did OK." We certainly agree. We will be honoring Gene's memory with a Celebration of Life and Open House at The Lodge at Katherine Legge Memorial Park, 5901 S County Line Rd, Hinsdale, IL, 60521 on Monday, February 5th from 5 to 8pm. A funeral mass will be held at Old Saint Pat's Catholic Church, 700 W Adams St, Chicago, IL 60661 on Tuesday, February 6th at 10:30am.
A private burial will take place at Gene's beloved University of Notre Dame. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Gene's honor to Christian Brothers High School (cbhs.org/support/give-now) or Great Lakes Adaptive Sports Association (glasa.org/donate), 27864 Irma Lee Circle, Unit 101, Lake Forest, IL 60045.
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