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

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

. 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 Metropolitan Area, Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is the List of municipalities in Arizona, fourth-most populous city in Arizona ...

. Basha ran for

Governor of Arizona A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

and won the Democratic nomination. However, he lost to incumbent Republican 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 1997. Symington, who is a member of the Republican Party, resigned from office in 1997 following ...

. Basha died on March 26th, 2013, at the age of 75.

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 (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. 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 Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

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

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

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

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