John Henry Bassarear

1924 - 2021

John Henry Bassarear

1924-2021

Bountiful—John Henry Bassarear slipped away quietly on February 11th to be with our mom in time for Valentine's Day after being separated for 16 years. He was born August 2, 1924 in Waterloo, IA to Clarence Ralph Victor Bassarear and Nina Cora Stewart. He married Rogena Mae Chadwick on June 19, 1948 in Des Moines, IA. Dad was world-renowned in the mining industry as a metallurgist, helping design/improve the way to process copper ore around the world. He was named the 50th anniversary Distinguished Alumni from the Colorado School of Mines and received numerous other awards. He enlisted in the army in 1943 and was a forward observer with the 285th Field Artillery Battalion in WWII. He is a survivor of "The Massacre at Malmedy", which occurred on the 2nd day of the "Battle of the Bulge". His battery (roughly 120 men) ran into a German tank column who had been instructed to proceed quickly and take no prisoners. The GIs were all gathered in a field when the Germans sprayed the entire battery with machine-gun fire from both sides, and then killed any survivors with a shot to the back of the head. Dad only survived because other GIs bigger and bloodier fell on top of him. Less than 30 men escaped. He is our hero for his service but also for being the outstanding man he was while shouldering that PTSD for the rest of his life. He refused to share his story until he went on Utah's first "Honor Flight" when he was 90 years old. He is survived by four children: Tom (Yvette), Steve (Cindy), Elizabeth and Jennifer. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to tinytimstoys.org. Dad spent the last five years, before Covid, working one day a week putting the wheels (while blind) on toy wooden cars for kids in Africa. It was a great joy to him. His full obituary can be found on bountiful@russonmortuary.com. Due to Covid, we will celebrate his extraordinary life later last year.