Gregory William Basinger, 58, of Sumner, passed away Tuesday, July 6, 2021, at his home following a courageous six-month battle with cancer.
Services are scheduled for 3:00 p.m. Sunday, July 11th, at Bright-Holland Funeral Home with Duane Hamil officiating. Burial will follow in Highland Cemetery at Deport. The family will receive friends at the funeral home one hour prior to the service.
Gregory was born Jan. 25, 1963, in Red River County, Texas and grew up in Cunningham, a part of the county he was always fond of.
He graduated from Paris High School and Paris Junior College. Greg was active in Young Farmers and FFA. He was on the Paris High School Future Farmers of American land judging team that took first place in a countywide land judging contest. When he was a senior at Paris High School, he was awarded a scholarship given by the Paris Young Farmers.
For a number of years he was a realtor with Newman Town & Country Real Estate.
In 1989, he began working as a maintenance helper at the Tenaska III power plant, now Paris Energy. Through hard work and dedication to his job, he moved up the ranks to become Lead for the Control Room, followed by Control Room Operations Manager. At the time of his passing, Greg was the Environmental, Health & Safety Manager.
He was a member of the Lamar Avenue Church of Christ.
He was preceded in death by his father, William Bryan Basinger, a sister, Tonja Basinger Murray, and his grandparents, William Thomas Basinger, Lois Fincher Basinger, William Joseph Curington, and Eula Naomi Curington.
Survivors include his wife, Joyce Smithson Basinger, whom he married in 2000, his mother, Floyd Gaynelle Embrey, a sister, Yulon Basinger, a niece, Heidi Slaughter & husband Rex along with several aunts, uncles, cousins and a host of friends.
Casket bearers will be: Don Arnes, Weldon Riley, David Basinger, Rickey Easterwood, Mark Vest, and Sam Brown.
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