George Baskinger, Jr.

And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory.” Isaiah 6:3

George J. Baskinger, Jr., age 38 of Montclair and formerly of Butler, died August 12, 2021.

George was a brilliant mechanical engineer, most recently employed with Tiburon Lockers, Inc. of Rockleigh, NJ. He had formerly worked with MAC Products of Kearny, NJ, Lockheed Martin in Moorestown, NJ, Mercury Systems of W. Caldwell, NJ and 901D LLC of Tallman, NY.

Growing up in Butler, NJ, George excelled in school. Showing signs of engineering passion at an early age, he loved doing projects with his father and building with Legos and construction toys. As a teenager, he worked at Star Lake Salvation Army Camp where he created several fun memories with many young people in town.  He also worked on cars and was largely self taught. He built a dog house that was a scaled-down model to match their lawn shed, and it is still there today! George loved to play baseball and have catches with his sister Bec, who dearly looked up to him and tried to keep up with him in every sport they played as kids.  George was an inspiration to his sister when he one day came home from a high school track meet with a medal.  After that day, Bec was determined to win her own track medal to make her brother proud.  He played the saxophone in the concert and marching bands at Butler High School and was a skilled member of Stage Crew. He was also fortunate to visit both Spain and Italy on two high school trips, which inspired a later love of travel. He was a National Honor Society Member at Butler High School, and was ranked third in his graduation class of 2001. He was honored as an Edward J. Bloustein Distinguished Scholar and a Merit Scholar at The College of New Jersey. George earned his BS in Mechanical Engineering from TCNJ and later an MS in Engineering and Project Management from Rowan University. He holds a U.S. Patent for Phased Array Radar systems used in ballistic missiles and was published in professional journals for his work with Fatigue Testing machinery.

To say that George was “bright” would be an understatement. He was brilliant. During his adult years, George was fortunate to travel to the Czech Republic on a business trip as he represented MAC Products. He was determined to visit all fifty states and collected souvenirs and refrigerator magnets as remembrances. Once he drove straight out to Iowa to stand on the Field of Dreams baseball field, and further to Nebraska to camp out in order to see the solar eclipse, stopping only in Wisconsin to visit his brother and family. He was a huge Jeopardy! fan and loved to watch it with his sister Bec. George had a collection of autographed baseballs signed by many of the NY YANKEES greats and always rooted for the Wisconsin Badgers! George maintained a love of model railroading, which he learned from his dad. He was fond of the family’s West Highland Terriers, named Westie and Winston, followed by Duncan and Duffy. George recently enjoyed a visit to his childhood home in Butler with Duncan and Duffy sleeping on him all day long, and he later recounted that day as his best memory in the recent past. Sadly, tragedy had visited George at a critical age; his father had passed away when he was just fifteen years old and the loss was very difficult for George to come to terms with. In recent months, George would call his mother and ask her to share Scripture with him. He was seeking God’s help and loved reading the Bible and praying with his mom. From memory, he would recite his favorite verses from hymns of the faith and also verses from Deut. 6, Isaiah 6 and Isaiah 43. He also found peace in listening to sermons by Alistair Begg of Truth for Life Ministries and his former pastor, Rev. Rich Kuiken. Through God’s mercy, George now lives a new life in the glorious presence of his Savior.

George had a strong desire to share Bible truths with those he met.  May his love for Jesus inspire all to have a relationship with the God of Heaven and Earth.

George is survived by his loving mother; Wilma Baskinger (Donkersloot) of Butler; his brother and sister-in-law, Samuel and Julie Baskinger with nephew Chase, of Deerfield, Wisconsin; and sister Rebecca of Butler. He was predeceased by his father, George Baskinger, Sr. in 1998.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks you to please make donations to Truth For Life - the Bible-teaching ministry of Alistair Begg, PO box 398000, Cleveland OH, 44139.