[From Botanica's Roses, p. 677:] Basye has been active since the 1940s in Texas. He is an innovative raiser of inter-species crosses, aiming for health, hardiness and thornlessness. He has also endowed a chair for research work...

Professor Robert E. Basye died 9 February 2000. A retired Texas A&M Mathematics professor, he had bred roses for over 50 years. His goal was to breed roses that were resistant to black spot.