Basil (Bill) W. Antoniades, 99, of Salem, passed away peacefully at his home surrounded by his family on Wednesday morning, February 16, 2022.
He was the loving husband of the late Juliette A. Antoniades, with whom he celebrated just shy of 71 years of marriage.
Born in South Peabody, he was the son of the late Charles (Antoniades) Anthony and Donalda (Antoniades/Audette) Anthony. He attended South School, South Peabody and Lynn English High School. He enlisted in the Navy at 19 in January 1942 following the attack on Pearl Harbor. He began his career as a “tin can” sailor as part of the convoy escorting transport ships to England. He was assigned to a cruiser (USS Birmingham) and two destroyers (USS Mayo & USS Blue) in the Atlantic and South Pacific where he was in the midst of numerous battles. He was present on the USS Blue in Tokyo Bay during Japan’s formal surrender which took place aboard the USS Missouri on 9/2/45 (V-Day). He was honorably discharged from the Navy on December 25th 1946 at the Alameda Naval Air Station, CA as BM-2 (Boatswain’s Mate 2nd Class). We are all so proud being the children & grandchildren of a navy veteran who served so proudly & honorably.
After his discharge he worked several years at Eastern Mass Bus Co. and then moved on to American Airlines working his way up to Head Purchasing Agent for their Northern Division up until his retirement.
Basil was a devoted son, husband and father, always putting others ahead of himself. He played softball in his younger years, later played tennis, coached hockey and played golf. He also enjoyed trips to visit his daughter and family on the West Coast. He took a keen interest in the activities of his 6 grandchildren, and truly enjoyed his seven great grandchildren as well as his three great-great granddaughters.
Basil is survived by his three children, Elaine Blanchette and her husband Ron of Salem, Normand Antoniades and his wife Donna of Peabody, Michelle Sanchez and her husband John of Placentia CA: Grandchildren Christopher Blanchette, Daniel Blanchette, Rachel (Blanchette) Kelley, John Bishop, Rebekah Sanchez and Olivia Sanchez: great-grandchildren include Stephanie, Haley, Madison, Jadon, Robert, Joshua and Jackson; great-great grandchildren Kiyah, Gabrielle and Alexandria. He is also survived by his brother-in-law Robert Gauthier of Danvers, Sisters-in-law Wilma Gauthier of Danvers, Dolores Ercha of Nashua NH and Gloria Hinton of Manchester NH, as well as several nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his brother Wilbrod.
Relatives and friends are invited to visiting hours at the Levesque Funeral Home, 163 Lafayette St. [Route 114 / 1-A] Salem on Sunday, February 27, 2022, from 3:00 to 6:00 P.M. His Mass of Christian Burial will be at Ste. Anne Church, 290 Jefferson Ave., Salem on Monday, February 28th at 1:00 P.M., followed by Military Honors and burial in St. Mary’s Cemetery, Salem. In lieu of flowers, kindly consider a memorial contribution to Care Dimensions, 75 Sylvan St., Suite B-102, Danvers, MA 01923. His family requests that all guests must wear protective masks for all services. For guestbook and to send a message of support to his family, please visit www.LevesqueFunerals.com