Paul Basken, Micro-Dynamics Co-Founder, Dies At 83

STONEHAM, MA — The following obituary was written and submitted by the deceased's son, Paul Basken.

Paul Basken, a microwave engineering pioneer, childhood war survivor and father of seven, died 9 January 2020 in Boston at the age of 83.

Born in Mount Vernon, New York, in 1936, Paul was the son of a German immigrant who managed to become the head chef at Sarah Lawrence College during the Great Depression, then made the mysterious and unfortunate decision to move the family back to Germany in 1938.

Paul helped his mother and three younger siblings survive the desperate post-war years after his father’s early death from a degenerative kidney disease that he too inherited. His acquired talents in childhood included classical piano and safely identifying the range of edible mushrooms available in the Bavarian forest. His close calls included an allied soldier being talked by a colleague out of shooting him when, as a child, he hurried toward them with a grenade he found.

Paul then returned alone to the US at age 19. Nearly penniless, he again was saved by friends he met on the cross-Atlantic boat from a knife-wielding steward who expected a tip upon embarking in New York City. He found his way to the US Air Force and was stationed in the segregated South.

Without any place to go for Christmas, a buddy, Ralph Bernklow, took him home to Connecticut. There he met Virginia, the intrepid sister practiced in holding her own among five brothers. They married, and Ginny came down South with Paul, beginning a partnership of 60 years, seven children and five grandchildren, that ended only when cancer took his bride in 2017.

They lived their early years in such Air Force postings as Biloxi and Texarkana, where their first child was born. Paul specialized in radar systems, aided by an educational career of mostly correspondence courses that eventually made him an internationally-sought specialist in the emerging field of microwave engineering.

After an honorable discharge with commendations, Paul and Ginny came back North, first to Connecticut, then the Boston area, where six more children came. With a few partners, he formed Micro-Dynamics Incorporated, a company along the Route 128 high-tech corridor that employed hundreds.

He cultivated other talents, including a gift for piano that regularly infused their longtime home in Stoneham with the works of the great German composers. He biked to work daily, long before it was a thing. He and Ginny annually worked full-yard vegetable gardens, teaching their children its multiple values. He led his local Boy Scout troop in multiple hikes through the mountains of New Hampshire, and built an exquisite Pinewood Derby race track that the scouts treasured long afterward.

An accomplished woodworker, he favored intricate large-scale dollhouses and works of furniture that filled his home and those of his children. He also took his scientist’s approach to cooking, filling their Groveland retirement retreat with breads, pizzas, roasted root vegetables, and more.

He and Ginny also loved square dancing, mushroom hunting, birding, and long walks through the woods. He did that all while learning about and managing with precision his kidney disease, PKD, and was among the pioneering class of transplant recipients in Boston.

He was predeceased by his wife Virginia (Bernklow), daughter Caroline Basken-Balzar, and brothers Joe and Philipp Basken, both of Germany. He is survived by his daughter Christine Basken and her husband Mark Copeland of Haverhill; son-in-law Steve Balzar of Custer, KY; son Paul Basken and his wife Maureen Greenwood-Basken of Kensington, MD; daughter Heidi Basken and her husband Richard Plasse of Haverhill; son Dana Basken of Barrington, NH; son Christopher Basken and his wife Katherine of Barrington, NH; son Daniel Basken of Groveland; and sister Christel Wiest of Germany. He also leaves behind five grandchildren: Lorelei Basken, Frederick Basken, Celeste Basken, Riley Basken, and Halley Basken; along with many nieces and nephews.