Charles Evans Bascom died peacefully in Tucson on March 29th, 2021 at the age of 79 as the gorgeous full moon was setting. His last days were spent at home surrounded by loving caregivers, friends and family.
Charlie was fascinated with all things to do with the sky, be it celestial navigation or pyrotechnics. There was no holiday or event that couldn’t be enhanced by a few fireworks. He was a collector of marine instruments, tools, friends, experiences, blues albums, scraps of unused paper – you might call him a hoarder. He was a tinkerer and a fixer – had more tools than most and knew how to use them all. And, he was a great cook. He loved to travel and was intrepid when attempting to speak a foreign language or learn to cook an unfamiliar cuisine.
Charlie was most comfortable at sea – unfortunately he married a landlubber but she did try. He loved “messing about in boats” – rigging, chartering, cruising, and inviting friends on an “adventure” (you know who you are!). He loved to amuse people with his very dry, subtle and often off-the-wall sense of humor. He was a wild and crazy dancer with a style all his own – very hard to follow but definitely enthusiastic! He could spend hours listening to B.B. King and Chuck Berry. He was always ready to recite Eskimo Nell – a “poem” in the style, if not the content, of Robert Service. Then there were the movie and murder mystery parties, scavenger hunts and sleep overs – the early years in Marion.
Cozy and comfortable was his style. A night by the fireplace with his friends and his dogs was his idea of heaven. Totally non-judgmental, empathic and a little quirky, he was a gentle man and a gentleman. Charlie met his personal challenges with grace and good humor.
Charlie was born in St. Louis MO to Elizabeth Evans Bascom and Joseph Holliday Bascom in 1941. He graduated from Brooks School where he met a wonderful group of lifelong friends and had many nonacademic adventures – rewiring the school and riding to class backwards on his bike, for instance. Charlie also served on the Brooks School board from 2004-2015. He graduated from Boston University in 1964 and got his MBA from Columbia University in 1971. He served in the Massachusetts Army National Guard from 1965 to 1970. In 1970, he married Christina Mitchell Bascom. They moved to Marion MA in 1971 and in recent years, divided their time between Marion and Tucson AZ.
Charlie was an early adopter of computers and loved to write software. After Columbia, Charlie worked for Raytheon Technologies Corporation in Washington D.C. and later for Environmental Devices Corporation in Marion, MA He developed software for boatyards and founded Quadrant Corporation and WatchCaptain LLC. He was President of the Rotch Jones Duff House board and on the New Bedford Whaling Museum board and very active philanthropically in the New Bedford area. He was also a founding board member of the Marion Bermuda Race and the Marion Antiques Show.
Charlie is survived by his wife, Christina, and his sister, Constance Bascom McPheeters and her children and families – Alex and Jennie McPheeters, Lizzy and Dave Rickard and Katherine McPheeters.
Donations in lieu of flowers may be made to: Community Boating Center of New Bedford 1641 Padanaram Avenue, New Bedford,MA 02740
