Paul Ivan Badgett
BADGETT WAVERLY, N.Y. - Paul Ivan Badgett, 89, presently of Waverly and formerly of Winston-Salem, N.C., passed away on Monday, Dec. 31, 2007. He had been ill for an extended time and under Hospice care since August. Born April 6, 1918, in Surry County, N.C., he was the son of Robert Gurney and Lottie Simpson Badgett. He was raised on a tobacco farm in Courtney, N.C. In 1934, he graduated from Dobson High School where he played on a state champion basketball team. He signed a professional baseball contract with the New York Yankees in 1936 when he was 18 years old. Before World War II, he played third base for the Norfolk Tars, as well as the Akron, Ohio, and Amsterdam Yankee farm teams. He entered the U.S, Army in March 1941 and was honorably discharged in November 1945, having achieved the rank of captain. He served in the 2nd Battalion of the 101st Infantry Regiment of the 26th Infantry (Yankee) Division in Patton' s 3rd Army. He fought at the Battle of the Bulge and through Germany, concluding his time of European service in the Army of Occupation in Austria. After his military service, he returned to the Yankee baseball organization, playing for the Denver Bears in 1947, and concluded his baseball years managing the Yankee minor league team in Franklin, Va., in 1950. He then worked for Chatham Manufacturing in Elkin, N.C., as he had done during the baseball off-seasons. He began work for Western Electric in 1952 in the procurement and accounting departments, retiring from there in 1980. His passion for sports turned to golf after his baseball career, and he played in N.C. amateur senior tournaments with great success after his retirement in 1980. He was preceded in death in 2005 by his wife of 56 years, Elizabeth Brinkema Badgett. Also preceding him in death were three brothers, Brady, Ricie and Roy Badgett. He is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Jean and Jeff Barber of Waverly; as well as four grandchildren, Kate Barber of New York City; Bethany Barber of Charlotte, N.C.; and Emily and Paul Barber of Waverly. He is also survived by his brother and sister-in-law, Hadley and Louise Badgett; as well as several nieces and nephews. A memorial service will be conducted at 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan 5, 2008, at Waverly Presbyterian Church, Waverly. The family will receive friends immediately after the service at a fellowship breakfast at Tomasso' s Golf Club. Inurnment will take place in April at the Columbarium of First Presbyterian Church in Winston-Salem. The family will provide flowers and asks that any memorials be made to Stray Haven Humane Society, 194 Shepard Road, Waverly, NY 14892; Tioga County Friends of Hospice, Attn: James McFadden, 56 Main St., Owego, NY 13829; or the Columbarium Fund at First Presbyterian Church, 300 N. Cherry St., Winston-Salem, NC 27101. Caring assistance is being provided by Cooley~Tioga Point Cremation & Burial Options Inc., in Athens, Pa.