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- Baltimore Sun, Maryland, 27 October 2024
Richard Whitfield Bass
Richard Whitfield "Whitty" Bass, 81, passed away in August, from pancreatic cancer. He was at home in Columbia, MD, with his devoted wife Gretta by his side. Born in 1943 and raised in Wilson, North Carolina, Bass is survived by wife Gretta Ferrell, daughter Melika Bass, brother Glenn Bass, sister-in-law Jean Bass, nephew Brandon Bass, niece Lisa Bass, and sister-in-law Andrea Thorin.
Bass lived a far-ranging, highly engaged life, with two professional callings ? ministry and track and field.
An All-American athlete in college, in Eugene, Oregon, Bass was part of the American Running movement of the 1970s, running a mile in under 4 minutes, at age 33. While serving in the Peace Corps in Morocco (1970-71), Whit served as a national track coach, training women and men for the 1972 Munich Olympics.
Locally, he coached many championship track teams at Oxon Hill High School (1980s) and Wilde Lake High in Columbia, MD (1990s-2000s). The Washington Post and Baltimore Sun named him the All-Metro Coach of the Year in cross country in Virginia, DC, and Maryland.
A coalition-building pastor, Bass served as Executive Director of Community Ministry of Prince George's County throughout the 1980s; founded the Annual Interfaith Commemoration for Martin Luther King, Jr, and the Alliance for a Rainbow County; was President of the Interfaith Council. A key organizer in the national boycott of DC's South African Embassy, Bass was arrested alongside legendary singer Harry Belafonte. Locally, Whitty was a Presbyterian minister at St. John United Methodist-Presbyterian Church in Columbia, MD (1999-2013) and Sixth Presbyterian Church in Washington, DC (1990-1995).
All welcome to the Celebration of Life service: Saturday, Nov. 2, from 2-4pm, St. John United Church, Wilde Lake Interfaith Center, 10431 Twin Rivers Rd. Columbia, Maryland.
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Bassett Family Association Database
1943 - 2024 (81 years)