Basil Maxwell Western Jr.'s Obituary
Basil “Jeff” Western was born on September 17, 1930, in Washington, DC, with loving parents, Basil Sr., and Evelyn Beulah Farmer. He passed away grateful of his long, God given life at the age of more than 93 years on April 17, 2024. He had one brother, Robert, one sister, Norma, and three surviving children, Jeff Brian, Julie, and Dawn plus five grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.
Jeff attended four universities and several junior colleges. Schools included George Washington University, American University, Maryland University, and Carnegie Mellon University.
He lived his earlier years in Anacostia, DC, and later on a small farm in Forestville, Md., where he raised racing homing pigeons. He graduated from Upper Marlboro High School in 1948 and graduated from Chamberlain barber school the following year.
He had many interests. He played all high school sports, had a pair of Redskin football tickets in the family for 50 years, was a ballroom dance teacher, magic (white face) clown, played ukulele and guitar in a musical group called “The Crestmen” and was president of his high school junior and senior classes. He volunteered for the U.S Naval Air Force in 1951, toured over Europe and Africa from Libya to Scotland, including Greece, Italy, Germany, England, France, Portugal, and the Azores Islands. These travels followed his graduating from the Naval Photo School in Pensacola, FL, after which he served four years in the Navy squadron VR-6 at Westover AFB in Massachusetts.
After the Navy, he secured a position as a supervisor with the Hydrographic and Oceanographic offices and subsequently was employed at the Defense Mapping Agency near Glen Echo, MD. He retired after 31½ years of Government service and pursued his hobby of collecting more than six dozen hats in Annapolis, MD. P.S. He was always known to wear a hat.
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