Jerry W Bass

Jerry Wayne Bass of Pike Road, Alabama, passed away quietly on the morning of August 29, 2024, succumbing to the cancer he fought valiantly since it was diagnosed a year ago. A memorial service will be held at Leak Memory Chapel on Sunday, September 8 at 2 PM at Leak Memorial Chapel. A brief visitation will be held with the family beginning at 1 PM.

Jerry was born on June 11, 1954 in Montgomery, Alabama. A graduate of Robert E Lee High School, Jerry entered the US Air Force and served as a medical clerk at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. After exiting the Air Force in 1976, Jerry began working with the US Postal Service and remained with that agency for the remainder of his career until he retired in 2021. Throughout the intervening time, Jerry also continued in military service with the Alabama Air National Guard, retiring with the rank of Chief Master Sargeant in 2019.

Jerry was a reserved individual who was deeply motivated by duty, responsibility, and love of family. Throughout his life, Jerry worked hard to ensure that the things and the people for which he was responsible were cared for to the best of his ability. He freely helped, gave with an open hand, and took care of those he could when others did not. He loved his children, wanted the best for them, and gave them the freedom to walk and run while being there when they fell.

Throughout his life, Jerry was keenly aware there was a world “out there” he wanted to see. Like many, during the earliest parts of his life, he was bound by responsibility to stay close to home. Nevertheless, he wanted more – to see more, try more, and do more. In the later part of his life, he was blessed to find Barbara Peters and, with her, he found the opportunities to travel and visit destinations he only dreamed of experiencing. Together, Jerry and Barbara made a new life, and, despite being cut down so quickly, it was good.

When they were not traveling, Jerry and Barbara lived a quiet life in their home in Pike Road. There, they tended their yard and gardens, ate good food, rough-housed with their dogs, discussed current events, and enjoyed quiet evenings in their backyard under the Alabama stars.

Jerry was preceded in death by his parents, James and Edna Bass. He is survived by his companion, Barbara Peters; his two children, Leslie Ogburn, with her spouse Travis, and Jason Bass; his two grandchildren, Casey and Ethan Ogburn; and his brother, Robert Bass, with his spouse Suzanne.