Anselmina R. Basheda

Anselmina Basheda (Rescheduled)Anselmina Basheda passed away peacefully on March 16, 2018, surrounded by family at the Virginia home of her oldest son. She was 90 years old. Anselmina (known by friends as Ann or Jabo) was born Aug. 24, 1927 in Tamaqua, Pa. She was the third daughter of Italian immigrants Dominic and Caroline Jacobe. Ann liked to talk about her first job when she was a teenager at The Gateway ice cream parlor; and how she was there the day World War II ended. In her early 20s Ann set out with a couple of suitcases for the big city of Philadelphia and soon met Michael Basheda. The two wed in 1954. And in 1956 they became original Levittown, Pa. homeowners. There, in Cobalt Ridge, she raised three children and held a variety of jobs over the years, including Avon Lady in the '60s. She retired as a Notary Public at Liberty Auto in Fairless Hills. She also volunteered throughout the years, helping students with reading at Walter Miller Elementary School and collecting door-to-door for various causes. Ann was an active member of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Byzantine Catholic Church in Levittown until dementia began to creep in 10 years ago. You could find her there working in the church hall kitchen during bingo on Sundays, selling halupki and sodas. She also worked on the church pierogi line for years. She loved cooking for her family, and was known far and wide for her meatballs and cherry cheese tarts, her standard dessert when it was her turn to host the neighborhood ladies Sewing Night. Ann enjoyed having company over, often phoning neighbors mid-day with an invite to pop by for coffee and cake. Other things she enjoyed: Ice cream cones, ice cream fountains, Hershey's kisses, hot coco from scratch, hot bubble baths, Wrigley's chewing gum, day trips to fun places, shopping for trinkets and fresh air. Ann spent hours in her yard in Cobalt Ridge, planting flower gardens, and tending her wisteria, lilac bushes, forsythia, rhododendrons and azaleas. She loved to take pictures of the yard as it changed with the seasons. If Social Media happened just a little bit sooner, she would have filled up Facebook with photos of her gardens, or with the silent "home movies" she shot of every day family life on her movie camera. Ceramics was another favorite hobby. Over the years she painted everything from pilgrims to pumpkins to dish sets, giving many away as gifts. Ann also had an afghan-crocheting phase, a sewing machine phase and a bowling phase. She was an independent woman, resourceful when times got tough, and always curious, spreading the Bucks County Courier Times out on the living room carpet every evening to read the news. She watched history programs on TV and asked (harangued?) family members to read, or even take, her "beautiful" books, which filled shelves throughout her home. Favorites included "Silas Marner," The Bible and her Encyclopedia set. She saved pretty much everything, her cubby hole is a time capsule of greeting cards, toys and magazines dating back to the '50s. After her husband died in 1992, Ann traveled regularly to Southern California to visit her daughter. Everywhere she went, whether it be Palm Springs, Big Sur or Yosemite, she liked to chat people up, quizzing them on whether they had ever heard of Levittown, Pa. A 1987 trip with her sisters to meet relatives in Italy was the highlight of her travels. Ann is survived by sons Michael Gary (Jeanne) and Randall (Barbara); daughter Lori (Dan); and grandchildren Matthew, Alex, David, Daniel, Brian, Jeremy, Ingrid and Clara. She is also survived by her older sister, Santina Benech, of Tamaqua. She was preceded in death by her sister Antoinette Abel, of Morrisville. Office of Christian Burial will be held at 12 Noon, Thursday March 22, 2018, at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, 1773 Woodbourne Road, Levittown, PA, 19057, followed by the Rite of Committal at Resurrection Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in her name to Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church.