Roy Howard Baskin, Jr.

Dr. Roy Howard Baskin, Jr., 88, died Friday, April 1, 2005 at his home in Waco. Services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, April 6 at Austin Avenue United Methodist Church, 1300 Austin Avenue, with the Rev. Tom Robbins officiating. Burial will follow at Oakwood Cemetery. Visitation will be from 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, April 5 at the funeral home. Roy Baskin was born October 10, 1916 in Cameron, Texas, the oldest of three sons born to the late Roy H. Baskin and Toressa Denson Baskin, and a third generation resident of Cameron. He graduated from Yoe High School in Cameron in 1934 as valedictorian. He was a member of the Tejas Club and Phi Beta Kappa at the University of Texas in Austin receiving his B. A. in 1939. He worked the summers of 1937-40 driving tour buses in Glacier National Park, Montana. He attended the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston where he was a member of Alpha Omega Alpha and received his M. D. in 1942. Commissioned in the U. S. Navy Medical Corps, he served an internship at U. S. Naval Hospital at Corpus Christi. He met Lowrey Burleson at First Methodist Church in Orange, Texas when his ship, the U. S. S Young was being built and commissioned in Orange, and they were married at Bethel Methodist Church in Charleston, South Carolina on October 14, 1943. His naval service included two years in the Pacific theater and two years at Oak Knoll Naval Hospital in Oakland, California. Leaving the Navy in 1947 he served a surgical fellowship at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, where he served as first assistant to Dr. Charles W. Mayo and Dr. Waltman Walters. Upon completion of his fellowship in 1952, he and fellow Mayo surgeon Nick Bellegie moved to Waco to establish their surgical practice, a partnership that grew into what is known today as the Waco Surgical Group. He continued in practice in Waco until his retirement on December 31, 1987. He was active both civically and professionally. His professional activities included being President of the Texas Surgical Society, Governor of the American College of Surgeons and President of its North Texas Chapter, Chairman of the Surgical Section of the Texas Medical Association, President of the Texas Mayo Alumni Association, President of the McLennan County Medical Association, and President of the staff at both Hillcrest Hospital and Providence Hospital. His civic activities included being President of the Waco Symphony Association, President of the Waco Society for Historic Preservation, Chairman of the Board of Trustees and of the Administrative Board of Austin Avenue United Methodist Church, a member of the Strecker/Mayborn Museum Advisory Board, a long-time member of the Northwest Waco Rotary Club and an ardent member of the Heart of the Order Baylor University Baseball support organization. Survivors include his wife Lowrey; his brother, Dr. Grady T. Baskin and wife Jean of Tyler, Texas; his sister-in-law Myrtle Baskin of Dallas, Texas; his sons, R. Howard Baskin III and wife Mary of Waco, Texas, Dr. Leland B. Baskin of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and Dr. J. Spencer Baskin and wife Qian of Pasadena, California; his grandchildren, Jacob N. Jake Baskin of Cedar Park Texas, LTJG R. Quinn Baskin, USN of Virginia Beach, Virginia, Benajah B. Ben Baskin and wife Brandie of Stephenville Texas, W. Rush Baskin of College Station, Texas, and Roy H. Baskin IV, Elizabeth Bess Baskin, William S. Will Baskin and John E. Jack Baskin, all of Waco, Texas, and Bernice Baskin of Pasadena, California; great-granddaughter, Brooklyn Baskin of Stephenville, Texas He was preceded in death by his brother, Dr. John L. Baskin of Dallas, Texas. Pallbearers will be Jake Baskin, Ben Baskin, Rush Baskin, Roy Baskin, Will Baskin, and Jack Baskin. Memorials may be made to Austin Avenue United Methodist Church or to the charity of your choice. The family invites you to leave a message or memory in our “Memorial Guestbook” at www.wilkirsonhatchbailey.com WILKIRSON-HATCH-BAILEY