Edward Najeeb Basha Jr. (August 24, 1937 – March 26, 2013) was the Chairman & CEO of Bashas', Inc., a grocery store chain in

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

. His father, Eddie Basha Sr., and his uncle, Ike Basha, founded Bashas' in 1932. The first store under the Bashas' banner was opened in

Chandler, Arizona Chandler is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and a suburb in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). It is bordered to the north and west by Tempe, to the north by Mesa, to the west by Phoenix, to the ...

Early life and education

Basha was born in Chandler, Arizona, where his father owned a grocery business. The Bashas were originally from Lebanon, entering the United States by way of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. They moved from New York City to Arizona in 1910. He graduated from Chandler High School and then obtained a degree in History at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

Career

Bashas' was founded by Eddie Basha Sr. and brother Ike Basha. Upon the death of Ike, Eddie Basha Sr. continued running Bashas'. Eddie Basha Jr. took full control of the family business upon the death of his father. Beginning in 1968, Basha expanded the small company to a nationwide chain of 160 stores. Basha ran an unsuccessful campaign as the Democratic nominee against incumbent Arizona Governor

Fife Symington John Fife Symington III (; born August 12, 1945) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 19th governor of Arizona from 1991 until his resignation in 1997. A member of the Republican Party, he resigned from office following c ...

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

. He was a supporter of many charitable and civic causes, particularly working with education and the poor in Arizona. He supported

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during his gubernatorial campaign, years before it became an issue for contemporary society in the early 21st century.

Personal life and death

Basha was a member of the Roman Catholic Church. He was a collector of Western American and American Indian art. In 1992 he carved out a space in the corporate offices of Bashas' (Chandler, AZ) and created an art gallery where the collection remains available for public viewing free of charge. Masterworks of the collection has been loaned to Museums across the nation such as The Autry (Los Angeles CA), The Booth Museum (Cartersville, GA), The Rockwell Museum (Corning, NY), Western Spirit: Scottsdale Museum of the West (Scottsdale, AZ), the Heard Museum (Phoenix, AZ), the Eiteljorg Museum (Indianapolis, IN) and many others. As a collector, he was more apt to acquire masterworks of contemporary artists whom he met and developed lifelong friendships with. Basha was also a passionate and ardent supporter of education. He served consecutive terms on the Chandler Unified School District governing board, the Arizona State Board of Education, and as a member of the Arizona Board of Regents. Along with his wife, Nadine Mathis Basha, and Rhian Evans Allvin, First Things First, an early childhood (ages 0–5) statewide program passed a ballot initiative that funded the development, health and education of young children. It was a milestone achievement which Basha said would benefit the lives of millions of children throughout Arizona. Arizona was the second state to pass such a program. In addition, Basha devoted countless hours toward the plight of the homeless and hungry, health care issues, a proponent of the arts, numerous political referendums and many other community and civic projects as well. Basha died on March 26, 2013, and is survived by his wife Nadine Mathis Basha, and sons Eddie III, Ike, Mike, David, Josh and Jeremy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Basha, Eddie Jr. 1937 births 2013 deaths American politicians of Lebanese descent Arizona Democrats Businesspeople from Phoenix, Arizona People from Chandler, Arizona Stanford University alumni American retail chief executives 20th-century American businesspeople Chandler High School (Arizona) alumni