On the third Sunday in January 1971, the Rev. Lester Basken preached his first sermon. The next week he was called to pastor Middle Baptist Church in Whitehaven.
Forty-four years later, he retired from Middle Baptist having grown the church’s membership manyfold. During that time of service, he extended his ministerial tutelage to position 50-plus others to accept the call to preach the gospel.
The Rev. Dr. Lester Basken died Sunday, Aug. 8. He was 90.
Dr. Basken’s spiritual leadership focused on the whole person. Programs designed to feed, clothe, mentor and give guidance to families, children, young adults and seniors extended the reach of his ministry to many outside of Middle Baptist Church in the Whitehaven community.
“We as a whole family thank you all for all the texts, calls, messages, thoughts and prayers,” his grandson, Darius Basken, posted on the church’s Facebook page. “We love you all.”
A wake is scheduled on Friday (Aug. 13) from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Middle Baptist Church, 801 Whitehaven Lane. A Saturday funeral service is set for 11 a.m. at the church. Services also will be available online through Livestream.
Mayor Jim Strickland remembered Dr. Basken on Facebook as “always welcoming and gracious.” He praised him for serving “the youth of Memphis with his joyful, uplifting personality.”
Born June 8, 1931 in Senatobia, Mississippi, he was the youngest of Price and Elvira Basken’s seven children. In the early 1940s, the family moved from Nesbit to Memphis, where he subsequently graduated from Geeter High School.
Drafted into the Army, he was wounded at age 19 during the Korean War and earned a Bronze Star for his service. Upon his return, he married Irene Jackson, whom he had met at Geeter. They set course on a marital journey that lasted 68 years, yielding four children. One son, Chrislyn Basken (Elizabeth), and two daughters, Leslie M. Basken and Marilyn B. LeaVelle, preceded him in death. The Baskens’ surviving daughter is Sheron D. Hamilton (Gerald).
A lover of baseball, he played with a local team called the Weaver Clowns, taking the field against legendary greats Hank Aaron and Willie Mays.
His work history included Liberty Cash Foods, National Food Stores, the Memphis Housing Authority and the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department.
According to a published obituary, he had worked nine years with MHA when he locked onto a promise he made while injured in Korea: “Lord, if you let me live, I will do anything you want me to do.”
Before beginning his ministerial career, he was already active at his home church, Mount Pisgah, Weaver Rd., where he served as choir director, Sunday School teacher and the superintendent of Sunday School. He also directed the Whitehaven District Choir and was a member of the J.W. Hardaway Singers.
He exemplified his value for education by earning a Bachelor of Theology degree from Mid-South Theological Seminary, a Doctor of Theology from Tennessee School of Religion and an Honorary Doctorate from LeMoyne-Owen College.
He retired in 2015.
Dr. Basken also leaves seven grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren, five sisters-in-law, and a host of nephews and nieces, including TSU President Dr. Glenda Baskin Glover.
Floral arrangements and other acknowledgments may be sent to Snow Funeral Home, 1650 E. Shelby Dr.
For more information, call 901-946-9726.
