Genevieve “Genny” Lentz Basler, 77

Genevieve “Genny” Lentz Basler, 77, died June 19, 2017, after being involved in a car accident on Highway 160 just west of Monte Vista, Colorado.

Born in Atchison, Kansas, Genny was a 1957 graduate of Atchison High School. She received her undergraduate degree from Baker University in Baldwin, Kansas, where she was a member of Phi Mu sorority, and two master’s degrees from Xavier University. She also briefly attended The University of Kansas and University of Colorado.

She met her best friend, Tom Basler, in Salina, Kansas, in 1965, and the two were married on June 11, 1966. They moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, later that year where they lived until they retired to Creede, Colorado, in 2002.

Genny lived her life in the service of others as a teacher, social worker and advocate. She began her professional life in 1962 teaching physical education at Lincoln Junior High in Salina, Kansas, until 1966. From 1966 to 1977, she taught physical education at Princeton High School in Cincinnati, and from 1982 to 1993, she was a long-term substitute at various schools and taught reading and special education at St. Bernard Elementary in Cincinnati. In 1993, she changed careers, becoming a social worker and advocate for children with developmental disabilities in Hamilton County, Ohio, a career she loved until she retired in 2000.

Genny and Tom moved to Creede in 2002 to live full time and help their son, David, launch Creede Magazine. While in Creede, Genny was an active member and president of the Ladies’ Aid Society and a member of the Friends of Creede Repertory Theatre. She also served as treasurer for the Creede Community Church, and sang in both the Creede Community Church Choir and the Creede Community Choir.

She always had a smile on her face and a helping hand to extend to anyone who needed it.

When she wasn’t volunteering around Creede, Genny loved to travel the globe with Tom and friends, recently visiting Australia, New Zealand, Russia, Alaska and Hawaii. They had just celebrated their 51st wedding anniversary earlier in June with a trip to Telluride, and they were frequently seen together at their granddaughters’ sporting and school events in Denver. She was a talented pianist and loved art of all kinds. In her spare time, she loved reading, playing bridge, and stitching elaborate masterpieces.

She was preceded in death by her mother and father, and sister Libby. She is survived by her husband, Tom; her son, David, and daughter-in-law, Amanda (Denver); granddaughters Nora and Eleanor; brother Stan (Creede), sisters Kathalee (Niantic, CT), Christy (Durham, NC), Mary Sue (Bethesda, MD and Creede), and Sarah (Medford, NJ); and many other family members who adored her.

Services will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, September 2, at the Creede Community Church. In lieu of flowers, the family asks you to consider donating in Genny’s name to either the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (ww.bcrfcure.org) or The John David Lentz Memorial Fund at the Creede Repertory Theatre (www.creederep.org/donate-now/), two causes she was extremely passionate about. Services In care of Strohmayer’s Funeral Home.