| Notes |
- Shipmate, Nov-Dec 2021, page 145
Melvin Sage Bassett ?53
On 16 August 2021, Commander Melvin Sage Bassett, USN (Ret.), passed away
due to heart failure. His physical presence is deeply missed, but his family and friends have an abundance of memories to celebrate. He had a long life, well lived.
"Big Sage," as he was lovingly called later in life, was born on 17 April 1931 in Newport, RI, to Rear Admiral Melvin Hughes Bassett '20 and Eleanor Sage Bassett. He hails from a long line of USNA graduates in addition to his father: uncle 1909, cousin 1935, brother 1958 and two nephews in the classes of 1989 and 1995.
His professional live was spent in aviation. He flew a variety of planes including seaplanes, taildraggers, jets and multi-engine transports.
He retired from the Navy after a 30-year career and began work with Flight Safety International, where he spent the next 20 years serving as a flight/simulator/aircraft system and crew resource management instructor and working with various corporate and regional airline operators.
Big Sage had the great fortune to have loved and been loved by two great women. He married his high school sweetheart, Maryalice Jessup, in 1953 and for the next 27 years shared the nomadic life of a military family, traveling the world and raising three amazing children. Along the way his marriage to Maryalice ended and his bachelor life led him to a bridge club on Long Island, where he met Lenore Elaine Trouillot. They were wed in 1986 and several years later, retired to Roanoke, VA. There, they found a thriving opera community, became active with the Lions Club, traveled near and far to every bridge tournament they could and enjoyed a loving full life until her passing in 2016.
Big Sage is survived by his sons, Scott Bassett (wife, Vickie) and John Bassett; daughter Carolyn Banks; granddaughter, Shannon O'Connell (husband, Denis); great-grandchildren, Edmond Sage O'Connell and Sophia Elizabeth O'Connell; his brother Frank Bassett '58 (wife, Bunny); and numerous nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his beloved sister, Patricia Pels.
His memory was long and his recall strong. Big Sage will be remembered for his love of family, his kindness to all and his sense of humor. The love remains, the legacy continues.
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Bassett Family Association Database
1931 - 2021 (90 years)