07-09-2012, 08:14 AM
July 9, 2012 at 1:00 am
Jane Bashara remembered as friend, volunteer, community booster
'Whatever she put her heart in, she put her full heart in'
By Francis X. Donnelly
The Detroit News
![[Image: bilde?Site=C3&Date=20120709&Category=MET...ty-booster]](http://cmsimg.detnews.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=C3&Date=20120709&Category=METRO01&ArtNo=207090348&Ref=AR&MaxW=525&Border=0&Jane-Bashara-remembered-friend-volunteer-community-booster)
A month before she was killed, Jane Bashara was shopping in a drugstore when another customer tried to make a purchase with a welfare debit card. The sale didn't go through so Bashara, who didn't know the man, told the clerk to add his items to her bill, said the clerk, Debora Price. Typical Jane, said her friends.
If someone needed help, she didn't hesitate, they said. She was a whirlwind who threw herself into whatever she was doing — work, community service, raising a family or helping others.
A fixture in the Grosse Pointes, she invariably was the one in charge of a community project, bursting with ideas, happily encouraging cohorts with a constant smile.
"She was one of those people who could do it all," said Lori Bireta, 56, a longtime friend from Davison.
Bashara, a 56-year-old mother of two, was strangled in January. Two months later, handyman Joe Gentz was arrested after telling police he killed Bashara at her husband's behest.
In a bizarre twist in late June, husband Bob Bashara was charged with trying to hire someone to kill Gentz.
Expressing shock over the arrest of her husband, friends and family of Jane Bashara also talked about their memories of a woman who was so active she didn't belong to just one book club but three.
Whether making a new resident feel welcome or leading a campaign to retain a school millage, she leaped into the task.
"She fit a lot into every day," said a sister, Janet Gottsleben, 55, of Clinton Township. "Her calendars were full."
People had been drawn to Bashara her whole life, said friends.
Her smile never seemed to wane. When talking to someone, she was so immersed in what they were saying that she made them feel like the most important person in the world.
It's telling that, during interviews and comments on blogs since Bashara's death, several people labeled themselves her best friend.
They clicked right away
When Bashara was a student at Central Michigan University in the 1970s, one of her girlfriends received a prank call from a boy in the middle of the night. The girlfriend and boy began talking, hit it off and agreed to meet the next day.
Bashara was so worried about her friend meeting a stranger that, during the get-together, she hid around a corner in the dorm lounge. The friend, Ruann Marshall, who eventually married the boy, didn't know Bashara was watching over her until she told her later. "Whatever she did she embraced fully," said Marshall, 56, of Chesterfield Township. "Whatever she put her heart in she put her full heart in."
Bashara, a good student and athlete, studied business administration at Central Michigan and then University of Detroit Mercy. Around the time she received her master's from Detroit Mercy in 1983, she met Bob Bashara.
![[Image: bilde?Site=C3&Date=20120709&Category=MET...0&Border=0]](http://cmsimg.detnews.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=C3&Date=20120709&Category=METRO01&ArtNo=207090348&Ref=V2&MaxW=300&Border=0)
The two clicked right away, Bob Bashara told "Dateline NBC" in May. He said he was attracted to her openness.
"She was outgoing, a go-getter," he said. "I just was attracted to her from the beginning."
For her part, she liked his affable nature and that he never was at a loss for words, said friends.
They were married within two years. Friends said they believed the 26-year marriage was a happy one. They were shocked by news reports, later confirmed by Bob Bashara, that he had a mistress.
He told a reporter that the couple had an open marriage, but his wife's siblings contested the point. They said in a statement that they doubted Jane Bashara would have stayed in such a marriage.
Most relatives, on both sides of the family, declined to be interviewed for this story.
In a recent court filing by the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office, Bob Bashara has been named a suspect in his wife's death. He has said repeatedly he had nothing to do with it.
A popular boss
One of the jobs Jane Bashara had while working for DTE Energy for 24 years was managing a 350-person call center.
She was a popular boss, said workers. They described her as personable, encouraging and generous with her time and praise.
After her death, testimonials from former employees filled a tribute page on a funeral home website.
"Jane always had a kind and encouraging word for everyone," wrote Peggy Willockx of Troy.
"She was so energetic buzzing around with a giant smile," wrote Rena Austin of Harper Woods.
She worked as hard in the community as on the job. At St. Michael's Episcopal Church, she was involved with the youth group. In the Grosse Pointe Park Little League, she and her husband started a concession stand in the late '90s that remains a major fundraiser today.
At Grosse Pointe South High School, she was an athletic booster, president of the band and athletic boosters, and head of the Mothers' Club, a parents group that raises money for scholarships and classroom expenses. During school events, she made sure volunteers felt appreciated. She circulated among them, asking about their children by name.
"She always had time for other people," said one of the volunteers, Jim Triano. "You liked volunteering because she was part of it."
If not working for the community, Jane Bashara was helping people individually.
When Triano's son wanted to transfer to Purdue University, Triano called Bashara because her son was a student there.
She spent hours telling the Trianos everything she knew about the school and walking them through the application process.
When the son was accepted, Bashara told him what he should do when he arrived on campus, what he should bring and places where he could live.
"It was like having a big brother," said Triano, 63, of Grosse Pointe Park. "She wanted him to know all the ins and outs." Even more remarkable, he said, was the fact that Bashara did all this for a casual acquaintance. "I might do that for my very best friend. We were someone she just knew," he said.
"But that's the way she was with everyone."
--------------------------------
From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120.../207090348
Jane Bashara remembered as friend, volunteer, community booster
'Whatever she put her heart in, she put her full heart in'
By Francis X. Donnelly
The Detroit News
A month before she was killed, Jane Bashara was shopping in a drugstore when another customer tried to make a purchase with a welfare debit card. The sale didn't go through so Bashara, who didn't know the man, told the clerk to add his items to her bill, said the clerk, Debora Price. Typical Jane, said her friends.
If someone needed help, she didn't hesitate, they said. She was a whirlwind who threw herself into whatever she was doing — work, community service, raising a family or helping others.
A fixture in the Grosse Pointes, she invariably was the one in charge of a community project, bursting with ideas, happily encouraging cohorts with a constant smile.
"She was one of those people who could do it all," said Lori Bireta, 56, a longtime friend from Davison.
Bashara, a 56-year-old mother of two, was strangled in January. Two months later, handyman Joe Gentz was arrested after telling police he killed Bashara at her husband's behest.
In a bizarre twist in late June, husband Bob Bashara was charged with trying to hire someone to kill Gentz.
Expressing shock over the arrest of her husband, friends and family of Jane Bashara also talked about their memories of a woman who was so active she didn't belong to just one book club but three.
Whether making a new resident feel welcome or leading a campaign to retain a school millage, she leaped into the task.
"She fit a lot into every day," said a sister, Janet Gottsleben, 55, of Clinton Township. "Her calendars were full."
People had been drawn to Bashara her whole life, said friends.
Her smile never seemed to wane. When talking to someone, she was so immersed in what they were saying that she made them feel like the most important person in the world.
It's telling that, during interviews and comments on blogs since Bashara's death, several people labeled themselves her best friend.
They clicked right away
When Bashara was a student at Central Michigan University in the 1970s, one of her girlfriends received a prank call from a boy in the middle of the night. The girlfriend and boy began talking, hit it off and agreed to meet the next day.
Bashara was so worried about her friend meeting a stranger that, during the get-together, she hid around a corner in the dorm lounge. The friend, Ruann Marshall, who eventually married the boy, didn't know Bashara was watching over her until she told her later. "Whatever she did she embraced fully," said Marshall, 56, of Chesterfield Township. "Whatever she put her heart in she put her full heart in."
Bashara, a good student and athlete, studied business administration at Central Michigan and then University of Detroit Mercy. Around the time she received her master's from Detroit Mercy in 1983, she met Bob Bashara.
The two clicked right away, Bob Bashara told "Dateline NBC" in May. He said he was attracted to her openness.
"She was outgoing, a go-getter," he said. "I just was attracted to her from the beginning."
For her part, she liked his affable nature and that he never was at a loss for words, said friends.
They were married within two years. Friends said they believed the 26-year marriage was a happy one. They were shocked by news reports, later confirmed by Bob Bashara, that he had a mistress.
He told a reporter that the couple had an open marriage, but his wife's siblings contested the point. They said in a statement that they doubted Jane Bashara would have stayed in such a marriage.
Most relatives, on both sides of the family, declined to be interviewed for this story.
In a recent court filing by the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office, Bob Bashara has been named a suspect in his wife's death. He has said repeatedly he had nothing to do with it.
A popular boss
One of the jobs Jane Bashara had while working for DTE Energy for 24 years was managing a 350-person call center.
She was a popular boss, said workers. They described her as personable, encouraging and generous with her time and praise.
After her death, testimonials from former employees filled a tribute page on a funeral home website.
"Jane always had a kind and encouraging word for everyone," wrote Peggy Willockx of Troy.
"She was so energetic buzzing around with a giant smile," wrote Rena Austin of Harper Woods.
She worked as hard in the community as on the job. At St. Michael's Episcopal Church, she was involved with the youth group. In the Grosse Pointe Park Little League, she and her husband started a concession stand in the late '90s that remains a major fundraiser today.
At Grosse Pointe South High School, she was an athletic booster, president of the band and athletic boosters, and head of the Mothers' Club, a parents group that raises money for scholarships and classroom expenses. During school events, she made sure volunteers felt appreciated. She circulated among them, asking about their children by name.
"She always had time for other people," said one of the volunteers, Jim Triano. "You liked volunteering because she was part of it."
If not working for the community, Jane Bashara was helping people individually.
When Triano's son wanted to transfer to Purdue University, Triano called Bashara because her son was a student there.
She spent hours telling the Trianos everything she knew about the school and walking them through the application process.
When the son was accepted, Bashara told him what he should do when he arrived on campus, what he should bring and places where he could live.
"It was like having a big brother," said Triano, 63, of Grosse Pointe Park. "She wanted him to know all the ins and outs." Even more remarkable, he said, was the fact that Bashara did all this for a casual acquaintance. "I might do that for my very best friend. We were someone she just knew," he said.
"But that's the way she was with everyone."
--------------------------------
From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120.../207090348