Rex Alan Basham, 74, of Pittsburgh, PA peacefully passed at home surrounded by his immediate family in the early evening of Thursday, November 7, 2024, after a long courageous battle with cancer. Rex (aka Rexbo, Dadbo, Pop, Grandpa, Papaw, Uncle Rex) is survived by his loving wife of 53 years Jerroyce Basham (aka JB Baby, Jeri), his beloved children, Jason and Amanda Basham and Angela and David Ames, and his absolutely adored grandsons Nickolas Basham, Jackson Basham, and Isaac Ames, along with his dear brother Roger (Carol) Basham, numerous brothers- and sisters-in-love, precious nieces and nephews, and a few treasured friends.

Rex loved his family fiercely and enjoyed spending time with all of them. Born in Georgia and raised in E-town Kentucky with his (late) sister Linda and brother Roger, he enlisted in the USAF after high school. He found the love of his life, Jeri, while stationed at Ellsworth Air Force Base in Rapid City, SD. Rapid City became their favorite place together where they created many beautiful memories. Jeri's large and loving family soon became Rex's additional family. When Rex first met Jeri's family, he asked her which of the 5 boys and 2 girls running around were her siblings, to which she answered, "All of them!" Rapid City was so special to them, and there is where they married and welcomed their son, Jason. The USAF took them on a multitude of adventures living in Korea, Germany, and eventually Omaha, NE, where they welcomed their daughter, Angie. In Omaha, Rex attended the University of Nebraska at Omaha and received a degree in Computer Science because computers became a passion for him. Growing up, Jason and Angie were always challenged by their Dad to learn more about computers while playing fun text-based games like Zork (of course after having to guess Dad's newest password – a puzzle he enjoyed creating for his kids) on an old Tandy Model 4P. One especially enjoyed techy toy was gifted to his children at Christmas – the Atari 400.

Like any good father, Rex had to make sure it was good quality by playing it all night with his friend before the kids ever saw it! The kids learned coding in BASIC on that Atari, and had a blast playing games with their parents. Rex encouraged his children to think critically and seek out answers, telling them, "Look it up!" while gesturing to the full set of Encyclopedias in their home. Rex and Jeri made some of their longest loved friends in Omaha, and you could often find a group of them playing Risk, Monopoly, or Stocks and Bonds at the Basham's home. Being an early adopter of technology afforded Rex a lot of opportunities in the tech industry. In 1990, he was given an offer he couldn't refuse in Pittsburgh, PA – and that is where he and his family made home base. The Basham family made fond memories together with hours of playing games, taking road trips to visit their loved ones in Kentucky and South Dakota, camping and fishing trips galore, and nurturing their sweet family dog, Chingo (friend in Korean).

Rex was proud of his children pursuing their dreams with technology, nature, animals, cooking, music, and eventually parenting with their own families. Rex loved Jerroyce wholly and truly, and together they were the rose blossom in the thorny but beautiful garden of life. You could not know Rex without knowing his love for his family. Rex's family, especially his grandsons, were the brightest lights in his life. He taught them as much as he could about fixing things, playing chess, silly "old" songs and movies, and he encouraged them in their passions. He will be continuing to cheer them on in spirit as they progress in their endeavors in robotics engineering, auto mechanics, the outdoors, science, math, music and sports. He will always be loved and remembered by his family as a pillar in their lives.