Arthur E. Bass

Lifelong Hillsboro resident Arthur E. Bass, died on June 9, 2016 at 3:15am in Medford, Oregon.

He was born in Hillsboro, Illinois on September 4, 1924, the son of Daniel Laverne Bass and Mary Catherine (Wade) Bass.  He was a graduate of the Hillsboro High School class of 1942.  Art entered the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the fall of 1942, but left partway through his freshman year to serve in the US Army in World War II.  Before heading overseas, he married Dorothy Lorraine Newport on May 9, 1944 at her parents’ residence in Hillsboro.

Art was a member of Troop C of the 36th Mechanized Cavalry Regiment (part of the 11th Cavalry Group) which participated in the Battle of the Bulge, crossed the Rhine into Germany, and later linked up with our Russian allies at the Elbe River.  Art was wounded in action in January, 1945 and recuperated in Holland.

After the war, he and the rest of the family continued to operate the Bass Funeral Home in Hillsboro for the next 45 years.

He was a licensed funeral director, a licensed commercial multi-engine pilot, a member of the Acacia Fraternity at the University of Illinois, the Hillsboro Kiwanis Club, the Moose Lodge, the International Order of Odd Fellows, the VFW, American Legion, the Hillsboro United Methodist Church and the St. Louis Theatre Organ Society.  For many years, he sang with the Land of Lincoln Barbershop Chorus in Springfield, and was a continuing member of the University of Illinois Marching Alumni Band since its inception in 1972.

Art was easy to spot on U of I Homecoming football game days.  For the last 8 years, he had the privilege of playing the newly-restored 1930’s-era 6-foot Illini bass drum, an activity he was able to continue until the age of 90.

An instinctual musician who never needed sheet music, Art could play almost any song he’d ever heard, and had strategically-placed pianos and Hammond organs around town, and delighted in simply showing up to play.  In recent years Art has enjoyed the company of Lois Jones and her family in Effingham.

Art was preceded in death by his parents and wife of over 60 years, Dorothy Bass.  He is survived by his children: Charles Daniel Bass & wife Patricia, Horton, Michigan; Perry Newport Bass, Houston, Texas; Mary Lynn Bass, Prairie Village, Kansas; Ann Wade Bass & wife Angela Fleischer, Ashland, Oregon; Robert Newport Bass & wife Melinda Baldwin, Hyattsville, Maryland; 5 grandchildren: Amy Bass, Dan Bass, Jr, & wife Melissa, Charles Newport Bass, Taylor Allyn Bass, and Benjamin Michael Bass; 2 step-grandchildren: Katherine Rodriguez & husband Carlos & Emily Freeland; 2 great-grandchildren: Abby Bass and Jake Bass.

Memorials may be made to Hillsboro United Methodist Church, 537 Rountree Street, Hillsboro, Illinois 62049.

Funeral services will be Wednesday, June 15, 2016 in Hillsboro United Methodist Church at 10:30 a.m. with Chaplain Ralph Ward officiating.  Burial will be in Oak Grove Cemetery with graveside military rites by VFW Post #1306, Taylor Springs and American Legion Post #425, Irving.  Visitation will be Tuesday from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. in the church.

The family is being assisted by Tom Dean and Todd Dean.

www.mdfh.com or www.basspattondeanfuneralhome.com

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