Extracted from The Clarion Ledger (Jackson, MS)
Sunday, January 15, 2012

Caroline Bass

Covington, LA

Caroline Roberts Bass, wife of Gaston Ray Bass, died Wednesday January 11,2012 at her residence in the Christwood retirement community of Covington, LA. She was 86. Her parents, Fisher Head Roberts and Jane Julia Ayraud Roberts, and her husband, Gaston Ray Bass, preceded Mrs. Bass in death.

Mrs. Bass was born in Detroit MI on September 16, 1925 and was raised in El Paso, TX. After high school she attended Glendale Junior College in Glendale CA before moving to Dallas TX, where she worked in the oil and cattle businesses as the personal assistant to Mr. Jack Frost.

She was married to Gaston Ray Bass on March 10, 1956 in Dallas and then moved to his home in Lumberton MS, where they were actively involved in Bass Pecan Company and Lumberton United Methodist Church. Mrs. Bass was involved through the family business in the Southeastern Pecan Growers Association, the Mississippi Pecan Growers, the Southern Nurserymen's Association, and the American Association of Nurserymen. She was proud to be an honorary member of the Pi Phi Sorority through her volunteer efforts for the chapter at the University of Southern Mississippi, and she was active for many years with the New Orleans Opera Guild, the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, the Metropolitan Opera's regional auditions, the New Orleans Museum of Art, and the Tulane Summer Lyric Theater.

Survivors include a daughter, Cassandra Bass Torbett (and husband Russell L. Torbett) of Whitefish MT, a son, Roberts Ayraud Bass (and wife Judith A. Bass) of Winston Salem NC, and four grandchildren: Gaston Richard Bishop, Maurine Hughes Payne (and husband Chris Payne), James Roberts Bass, and Corinne Allison Bass.

A memorial service will be held Monday, January 16 in Covington LA at the Christwood community at 11:OO am. A graveside service will be held at 2:30 pm that afternoon at the municipal cemetery in Lumberton MS.

Funeral arrangements are being handled by Bagnell Funeral Home of Covington LA and Hulett-Winstead Funeral Home of Hattiesburg MS.