Dale Rex Bascom was born in Riverton, Wyoming. When he was a year old, his family moved to Idaho, where they homesteaded 148 acres on a G.I. bill in the Snake River Valley. There he enjoyed finding arrowheads on scout hikes and exploring a local lava-flow cave where Indians had once lived. He also found his first dinosaur bone on the farm and has been hooked on rock hounding ever since.

In 1965 the family moved once again, this time to Spring Lake, Utah. With the close proximity of the mountains, he often hiked the hills and explored the nearby mines.

While growing up, his hobbies included fishing, deer hunting, and hiking. Dale completed a two-year mission in Germany for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1974. Upon his return, he attended what is now UVSC, where he graduated with an associate’s degree in electronic technology. He met his future wife at school, and they were married in the LDS Manti Temple in 1975. Dale and Jeri have six children and will shortly have ten grandchildren. He has been employed at Brigham Young University since 1984.