Billy Joe “JR” Basinger
*CLARIFICATIONS: Billy Joe "JR" Basinger went missing on March 22, 2010, his wife, Glenda Basinger, said. He was reported missing March 24, 2010, Sheriff's Department Detective Tom O'Sullivan said. Mr. Basinger worked in the drywall business in the 1990s; an earlier version of the story misreported this information. The spelling of Lora Basinger and Brendan Basinger have been corrected. This story has also been updated to include service information, which was not available before.
COLUMBIA — A creative mind and strong worth ethic defined Billy Joe "JR" Basinger.
"He'd constantly take an old piece of wood you'd think was worthless, come back into the house and an hour later have something beautiful made for me," his wife Glenda Basinger said.
Mr. Basinger of Wilton died after going missing on March 22, 2010. A report was filed March 24, 2010. He was 55.
He was born Feb. 20, 1955 to Billy Joe Basinger and Dolores Begeman Basinger.
*Mr. Basinger worked as a drywaller in the 1990s. Earlier, he worked in the fur industry. In 1978, he co-founded B & B Custom Furs in Bonnots Mill. Alongside childhood friend Chuck Boelkes, Mr. Basinger turned a love for fur trapping into a profitable enterprise.
Mr. Basinger and Boelkes became lifelong friends after growing up together in southern Boone County. The two would play pool at the tavern owned by Basinger's uncle when they weren't fishing or hunting.
"He had a pretty tough skin but a big heart," Boelkes said. "Whenever I needed him, he was there for me. He was a one-of-a-kind friend."
Mr. Basinger attended Columbia College for fire safety management and made the dean's list. He hoped to volunteer for the fire department and aid in arson investigation.
He and his wife shared a love for the outdoors and could be seen almost everyday riding personal watercrafts or fishing on the Missouri River.
"Life with him was like something you'd read in a fairytale," his wife said. "He provided me with more love than you could even imagine."
Mr. Basinger is survived by his wife, Glenda Basinger; a daughter, *Lora Basinger of Wilton; two sons, Cory Basinger and wife, Jessica, of Wilton, and *Brendan Basinger of Ashland; his mother, Dolores Begeman; a brother, Mitchell Basinger and wife, Diane, of Ashland; three step-children; and nine grandchildren.
His father, Billy Joe Basinger, died earlier.
*Visitation will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at Wilton Boat Club, 801 W. Route M, in Wilton. Service will follow at 3 p.m. at the same location.
