Basil R. Battaglia, 89, a lifelong resident of Wilmington, DE, passed away on August 29, 2025, just two months shy of his 90th birthday.
Basil graduated from Salesianum High School and earned his BA from LaSalle College in Philadelphia in 1959 and his LLB from the University of Baltimore in 1963.
Basil is recognized as the longest-serving Chairman of the Republican State Committee in Delaware, as well as the third longest-serving State Chairman nationally, serving from 1988 through 2001. During his tenure, the party saw an increase in registration, continuous control of the State House of Representatives, and a substantial increase in the number of women and young Republicans elected in the state, as well as the first Republican African American woman elected to the State Senate. He is also credited with shaping the presidential primary that gave George W. Bush his first primary win and boosted Delaware into the spotlight next to New Hampshire. He served as Chair of the Northeastern State Chairman’s Association, Vice Chair of the Northeastern States Association, and on the Standing Committee on Rules and the Budget Committee of the Republican National Committee.
Basil also was Director of the Delaware Turnpike for the Delaware Department of Transportation from 1977 through 1993, served as New Castle County Register in Chancery from 1969 through 1976, and owned Beckworth Title Company and Beckworth Consulting since 1966.
In addition to his political service, Basil helped his community as Director of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh, Director of the U.S. Small Business Administration, Director of the Greater Wilmington Visitors and Convention Bureau, a member of the Governor’s Council on Tourism, a member of Italo-Americans United, and a member of the Governor’s Dinner Committee. Basil was recognized with the Young Man of the Year award from the Junior Chamber of Commerce in 1969, the Order of the Griffin Head Award from the Delaware National Guard in 1979, and the Columbus Award in 1982.
As a skilled negotiator, many trusted Basil’s ability to lead various individuals and organizations with competing goals to come together and compromise for the greater good.
Despite his busy schedule Basil always found time to be available for his wife and children as well as anyone who asked for help from attending sporting events to finding summer jobs.
Basil is survived by his wife, Sandra; his three children, Lisa Battaglia and her long-time partner Jeff Dodson, Scott, and Michael and his wife, Samantha; and his grandchildren Isabella, Chas, and Willa, as well as step-grandchildren, Riley and Reese, as well as many nieces, nephews and their families. He was preceded in death by his parents, Bruno and Carmela Battaglia; his brothers Victor, Joseph, Dominick, Francis, and Nicholas; and his sisters Rose Lindewirth, Catherine Sipala, Antoinette Reed, Ellen Conaway, and Ann Battaglia.
A viewing will be held on Tuesday evening, September 9, 2025, at Chandler Funeral Home, 2506 Concord Pike, Wilmington, DE, 19803, from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM, and on Wednesday, September 10, 2025, at 10:00 AM at St. Anthony of Padua Church. A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered on Wednesday, September 10, at 11:00 AM at St. Anthony of Padua Church, Ninth and DuPont Streets, Wilmington, DE, 19805. Interment will be private.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you send a donation to the National Kidney Foundation, www.kidney.org or to Faithful Friends Animal Society www.faithfulfriends.us.
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