Eddie Basha, Jr., 75, passed away March 26, 2013. Basha is survived by his wife, Nadine, and six sons. Basha’s grandfather and father opened the first of what would become the family owned supermarket chain of the same name – Bashas’ – in 1932.  He took over the business in 1968, at age 31, after the death of his father; similarly, Edward Basha III was elevated to president and CEO just this month, and also replaced his father as chairman of the board at the Chandler-based company. Eddie Basha, Jr., was slated to serve as chairman emeritus.  The Basha family has overseen the company’s growth from its first Chandler location more than 80 years ago to what it is today: a 130-plus location company that has weathered multiple economic downshifts and a 2009 bankruptcy reorganization to still stand as one of Arizona’s top truly-local businesses. All but two of the Bashas’ locations are in Arizona, and the company also operates Food City and AJ’s Fine Foods locations throughout the state. Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton posted on Twitter...(As a) “champion for education, (the) best thing we can do to honor him is support our schools.” Basha served on the Arizona Board of Education and the Arizona Board of Regents, the governing body for the state’s public universities. The family name is also emblazoned on the side of two schools in the city: Basha Elementary School and Basha High School.  He also unsuccessfully ran for governor in 1994, losing to incumbent Fife Symington. According to The Associated Press, friends said Basha and his company gave and raised millions of dollars for worthwhile causes around the state for years. He also was known to hand $100 bills out to panhandlers and singlehandedly bailed out countless community-service groups. (Source: ASU Foundation Gift Administration and Data Management)