Raymond Leon Bass

Raymond Leon Bass of Dallas, TX was born to James Madison Bass and Pauline Nett Bass in Carol Springs (Athens) TX and passed away on October 17, 2013, at the age of 91. He is survived by the mother of his children Rita Bass; daughters Victoria Meyer (husband John), Linda Garay (husband Ruben), and Karen Dickey (husband Russ); and sons Thomas Bass (wife Lynda) and William Bass (wife Christy); grandchildren, Jason, James, Natalie, Joseph, Joshua, Jena, Ryan, Tyler, Scott, Troy, Emily and Taylor; great grandson, Jayden; and niece, Nancy Power.

This is a tribute to our dad. Dad was born on September 24, 1922. He was born to a poor tenant farmer in Carol Springs, East Texas. He, his mother, father, older sister and younger brother survived the “Great Depression”, but just barely. He told stories of going to town in a horse drawn wagon to sell watermelons, living in shacks with dirt floors, walking miles to school, having one pair of overalls, and being embarrassed to have only a cold sweet potato for lunch. Often his one pair of overalls was frozen from being washed the night before. His younger brother James died at the age of 4 of appendicitis and a few years later his father died of lung cancer. His mother remarried which made him feel that he had no real home; so he joined the Army Air Corp (now the US Air Force). His mother had to sign the papers, as he was only 17 years old at the time. I suppose she signed it because he was somewhat of a lost youth who needed a focus. It sounds more like a movie than the lives that we now know.

Dad was a ”fly boy” in the 452nd Bomb Group of the famous 8th Air Corp. based at Deopham Green Airfield in Attleborough, England, about 90 miles north of London. The 8th Air Force was responsible for the bombing and destruction of the German war industry and its ability to continue the war in Europe. Some of their targets included but weren’t limited to the ball bearing works spread all over Europe, and also the oil industry that powered the machines of the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) and the Wehrmacht (the combined German military). Dad was an aerial gunner aboard a B17 bomber. It is said that some 60% of these “fly boys” were killed because of the dangerous conditions of deadly flak, ever present German fighters, and operational incidents.

Dad has memories of going into London to Covent Gardens to dance with the local girls, getting care packages filled with stuff like the good cheese from back home “Velveeta”, and meeting up with the “Limies”. Dad was in the military for approximately 6 years, being honorably discharged in 1945, with the rank of Staff Sargent.

After the war he again found himself wondering what he could do with his life. He finally settled on driving for Greyhound Bus Lines. He use to tell great stories about the people he met on the bus however, we would do a disservice to his stories by retelling them, trust us they were quite humorous.

Eventually, at the age of 34 he met our mother, Rita, at the Lucas B&B while having a cup of coffee. It is such a landmark the sign is still there on Oaklawn! They raised five kids, in the era when parents would sit in their front yard on their aluminum lawn chairs while lighting up their favorite tobacco; as the kids ran wild in the neighborhood, when the family station wagon had no seat belts, phones hung on the kitchen wall, a thump on the head let you know you weren’t paying attention in church, and the only time you went out to eat was on special occasions at the local cafeteria. He was a strict disciplinarian and he made sure you knew the value of a dollar. He was probably the first to “go green” you never got away with leaving lights on or water running.

Dad had a talent for fixing things, which was a good thing because there wasn’t much money to pay repair men. He use to say he was a jack-of-all trades but master of none. He could take a car apart and put it back again. He built his own shed, garage, trailer and later in life his own house.

Dad was always a bit restless and on the move. I guess this came from his years moving from farm to farm in the Depression. He would say a rolling stone gathers no moss. His last move was at the age of 89!

Our parents provided us kids a good life and they were married for over 20 years; when they ultimately divorced. Their divorce was a bitter and life- changing event in all our lives. However, I think we can all say that from this family crisis we learned to be humble, forgive and be forgiven. We can thank our mother for being an example of what it means to forgive. We were blessed to have the last few years to resolve the lost years and remember the happy times and make new good memories.

Dad, we are very proud of how you came from nothing and made a good life, worked hard and of the service you gave to your country. We will miss your funny little sayings, your quiet presence, your retelling of days gone by and your words of wisdom. We sadly say good- bye until we meet again in our true home in heaven.

Memorial Service, Monday, October 28th at 12:00 p.m.

Sparkman Hillcrest

7405 W. Northwest Hwy Dallas, TX 75225

1:30 p.m. escort to Dallas Fort Worth National Cemetery

for a 2:30 p.m. service

2000 Mountain Creek Pkwy, Dallas, TX 75211

We would like to acknowledge that during World War II there were over 16,000,000 members of the United States armed forces, and that more than 400,000 members lost their lives in service to that effort. Our Greatest Generation veterans are now in their 80s and 90s and are passing away at the rate of 600 per day. We would like to remember their sacrifices by setting up a memorial in our dad’s name to help send Vets to the World War II Memorial, as well as other veterans to Washington D.C. through Honor Flight DFW.

In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to:

Honor Flight DFW

10455 North Central Expressway

Suite 109-195

Dallas, TX 75231

http://www.honorflightdfw.org/donations.html

Or

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

P.O. Box 1000

Dept. 142

Memphis, TN 38148