Larry D. Basham

LARRY DELWYN BASHAM
December 21, 1930 – May 24, 2024
Larry Delwyn Basham, age 93, died Friday, May 24, 2024. He was born and grew up in the coal mining town of Whitwell, Tennessee. Son of a miner turned restauranteur, Larry was always fascinated with airplanes and learned to fly at age 15. He attended Tennessee Wesleyan College in Athens Tennessee where he met his first wife, Ellen Welch of Redbud, Georgia. They were married in August 1951 and in August of 1952 welcomed their daughter, Debra Karen.
Larry served active duty in the United States Air Force from 1951-1957, and in the inactive reserves another ten years. His last assignment was at Ramey Air Force Base in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, he served as co-pilot of a B-52 heavy bomber and achieved the rank of Captain. He was a member of the Strategic Air Command teams carrying nuclear bombs to drop on the USSR during the Cold War. He and the other teams of flyers received this mission three times, and much to his relief, after five hours into the mission, the teams were called back to base.
After retiring from active duty, Larry attended the University of Tennessee Knoxville, on the GI Bill, and graduated Dec 15th, 1960, with a Doctor of Jurisprudence. He was awarded his license to practice law by the Supreme Court of Tennessee on March 31, 1961. Upon receiving his license, he joined Mayfield and Mayfield, a highly regarded and generational law firm in Cleveland as an Associate Attorney. He then practiced with Lawyers Title in Atlanta, Georgia, and in 1964 he returned to Tennessee to practice with Bowater Inc. in Charleston. Shortly thereafter, he was asked to return to Mayfield and Mayfield as a partner. The firm became Mayfield Mayfield and Basham. Later he became the sole owner of the firm.
He was active in the Kiwanis Club, the Optimist Club, and assisted in the development of the Cleveland YMCA, the Cleveland Boys Club, and the relocation and development of the Cleveland Country Club. He represented most of the large manufacturing companies and corporations in Cleveland. On May 22, 1967, he was duly admitted and qualified as an Attorney and Counsellor of the Supreme Court of the United States of America. During his forty-year career as an Attorney, one of the successes he was most proud of, was assisting many of the Whitwell Tenn coal miners and their families in securing The Black Lung Benefits from the Federal Government. These miners' claims had previously been denied. Not only did he get these claims reinstated, but the claims were reimbursed back to the original application dates. He did this work pro-bono for the men of the town he loved.
During the early years of his success, the family began to travel. Initially they traveled to visit relatives in California and then later to the mountains of the Swiss Alps. There, Larry learned to ski the vast glaciers and enjoy the hiking trails surrounding the lovely village of Zermatt Switzerland. For ten years, they rented a studio apartment with a view of the majestic Matterhorn. From there they adventured on to other well-known cities to enjoy the romance of old Europe.
In 1984, after marrying his second wife, Dr. Renate Huft, they expanded their experiences of world traveling. He loved sharing their many travel experiences with family and friends. He was fond of saying that they had circled the globe more than once and visited eighty-eight different countries. They resided in Ooltewah, Tennessee where Larry continued to live following her death in 2015.
Larry moved to Gainesville, Georgia in 2021 to be closer to his daughter and son-in-law. Even with time, his love of travel and adventure continued. The three of them ventured to Germany, England, Scotland, and Wales. In the US, they visited the western National Parks and the California coast, Pennsylvania, and Maine. They also visited the quaint Florida cities of Apalachicola, St. Augustine, and Clear Water Beach, as well as Savannah and Charleston. They often returned to visit relatives and friends in Chattanooga and Cleveland.
He was preceded in death by his parents Thomas Kirksey Basham and Jessie Ana Stephenson of Whitwell, Tennessee; first wife Ellen Welch Basham, Red Bud, Georgia; sister Helen Basham Steeley of Panama City, Florida; and second wife Dr. Renate Goepel Basham of Koln Germany and Ooltewah, Tennessee.
He is survived by his daughter Debra Basham Gurley and son-in-law David Wills Gurley of Oakwood, Georgia; sister Janice Faye Gilmore of Chattanooga, Tennessee; former sister-in-law Yvonne Welch Moss of Red Bud, Georgia and his beloved pet Dachshund, Athos.
No public service is planned.
Memorial Park Funeral Home, 2030 Memorial Park Rd., Gainesville, Ga. 30504 is in charge of the arrangements.
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