Obituary of Richard Baessler

Richard (Dick) Baessler of Medford, New Jersey passed away peacefully on December 12, 2019.  He was 87 years old.  

Dick was married to Josephine Chimenti on April 9, 1953 and they were married 66 years.

Richard graduated from Rancocas Valley Regional High School, class of 1952.  He went on to enlist in the United States Airforce after graduation, where he became a mechanic and aircraft maintenance instructor during the Korean War.  After his Military service, Richard spent over 40 years in the telecommunications industry with New Jersey Bell Telephone and later Verizon. Richard had extensive mechanical, electrical and communications training and was known by family and friends as "the guy who could fix just about anything".   His lifelong love of aviation led him to get his private pilot license in the late 1970’s. He was also a sailor, and loved to sail his 22 foot sloop in Barnegat Bay. Richard loved nature.  He was an avid fisherman, and felt most at home in the woods of the Jersey Pine Barrens, as well as in the mountains of the west and New England.  He espoused stewardship of the environment and saw the importance of nature, not only for himself but also for his family. Above all else, Richard was known as a kind, humble and caring man and will be sorely missed.

Richard is survived by his wife Josie Baessler, daughter Susan Cunningham Chestnut (Vic), son Jeff Baessler (Becky), son in law Tom Cunningham, six grandchildren, 1 great granddaughter (due 2/27/20) and numerous nieces, nephews and friends.

A Memorial service with Military Honors will be held on January 17, 2020 at 11:30a.m. in the Chapel at the Brigadier General William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Arneytown, NJ. 

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in Dick’s honor to the Air Victory Museum (http://www.airvictorymuseum.com/index.html) or The Pinelands Preservation Alliance (https://pinelandsalliance.org/)