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- Wisconsin State Journal, Madison, Sunday, February 2,6 2006
John Bass
VERONA - John Bass, age 69, died on Thursday, Feb. 9, 2006. He was born in Reedsburg on Feb. 21, 1936, to Roger Graydon Bass and Alva Nora Anderson. He graduated from Madison West High School in 1954. He enrolled at UW-Madison and joined the Naval Reserve. To take advantage of the GI Bill, he joined the Navy after one semester at the UW. He went through boot camp at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center and served as the education petty officer of his company. Due to his efforts, his company was named a Hall of Fame company. After boot camp he went through communications school in San Diego and his rate was Communications Technician. He then shipped out to Adak, Alaska, a desolate island out in the Aleutian Islands chain. He spent his time near the naval base at a National Security Agency building monitoring Soviet Navy communications and movements. After a year of service on "the Rock," he was transferred to Washington, D.C. where he finished out his enlistment. He was very disappointed that he never served at sea. After his discharge, he re-entered UW-Madison and received a B.S. in economics in 1961. While at the university, he marched with the UW Band under Ray Dvorak, playing the double-belled euphonium and was a life long member of the band alumni. In June 1962, John married Jean Dudley and they honeymooned in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, a place he and Jean dearly love. After graduation he joined Wilbur Dudley's advertising agency where he decided they could more economically print their media in-house. With excess printing capacity, he solicited other printing business, transforming the business into the commercial printing company now known as Park Printing House, Ltd. The printing company was his life-long passion. John had a passion for life and had many interests. He acquired old cars, mostly Model A's, and enjoyed tinkering with them. One year he drove a Model A to the Grand Tetons and back without mishap. He also collected and restored old Farmall tractors. He built a barn (similar to the famous Mormon Row barn in the Tetons) and used it to store his tractors and hay for Jean's sheep. He also hosted two of his class reunions in the barn. He spent two years restoring an old wooden Chicago & North Western caboose that was built in 1915. His conductor grandfather, father, and brother may have all spent some time riding in that caboose so it was very meaningful to him. John was an ardent supporter of the UW Marching Band all his life, supporting their fundraising efforts and helping with the Varsity Band Spring Concert. He enjoyed watching the band practice and knew many of the staff and kids. His love of the Navy never diminished and he supported it in many ways. He was a proud member of the Navy League. In the 90s, one dream came true; he made two short cruises in the Pacific on the super carrier USS Kitty Hawk CV-63. He never imagined such a thing could happen and it was one of the important events in his life. He was also invited to spend a day cruise on the Great Lakes aboard the frigate USS Oliver Hazard Perry FFG-7 and was a guest at the change of command ceremony. John had a wide circle of friends and was involved in too many things to mention here. He always had something going. He had a great trip through life and took a lot of people along for the ride. He is survived by his wife, Jean Dudley Bass; their two children, Roger (Rebecca) Bass and Amy (Chris) Armstrong; and three wonderful grandchildren, Sam Bass, and Molly and Bailey Armstrong. He is also survived by six brothers and sisters, Patricia (Jerry) Edgar of West Bend and their children, James, Jane, Jay, Jennifer, Jerry, John, and Julie, Roberta Stockton of New Berlin and her children, Linda, Louise, Mark and Michael, Charles (Linda) Bass of Johnson Creek and their children David, Dianna and Lisa, Jerry (Kay) Bass of Verona and their children, Julie and Tom, Tom (Debbie Dudley) Bass of Verona and their children, Greg and John, and Christine (David) Kilps of Verona and their children, Andrew, Laura and Tom. He is preceded in death by his mother and father; nephew, Jeffrey Dudley Bass; and brother-in-law, Richard Stockton. A celebration of John's life will be held at SALEM UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST on Saturday, March 11, 2006, at 11 a.m. Memorials may be made to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Wisconsin Chapter or the University of Wisconsin Foundation Marching Band Scholarship Fund.
Ryan Funeral Home & Cremation Services Verona Chapel 118 N. Franklin St. (608) 845-6625 www.ryanfuneralservice.com.
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Bassett Family Association Database
1936 - 2008 (71 years)