Obituary of Opal Bass

Services for Opal Bass, 87, Tyler, are scheduled for 11:00 am, Thursday, September 16 at the Southern Oaks Baptist Church, Tyler with the Reverends Larry Craig and Fred Morrow officiating. Burial will be in the Elkins Cemetery in the Omen community of Smith County, under the direction of Cottle Funeral Home, Troup. Mrs. Bass died Monday, September 13, 2010, in a Tyler hospital. She was born August 28, 1923 in Clarendon to the late Clarence and Ava Page McWhorter. She was a member of the Southern Oaks Baptist Church, Tyler. For the past several years she had been a resident of Garden Estates, Tyler, where she led Bible studies. She was a loving mother and grandmother and was deeply devoted to her family and friends. Mrs. Bass married Reverend E.L. Bass, in Matador, February 10, 1941. She served with him as a faithful minister's wife throughout their 60 years of marriage until his death in 2001. In addition to her parents and husband she was also preceded in death by three grandchildren, two brothers and three sisters. Survivors include a son, Lynn Bass, Whitehouse; four daughters and sons-in-law, Ava and Johnny Ashby, Tyler, Charlotte and Charles Keasler, McKinney, Sybil and Jerry Kleam, Lindale, and Marilyn and Kirk Wilson, Tyler; fourteen grandchildren; 21 great-grandchildren; a nephew; and special family members, Jerry and Linda Cothran. Pallbearers will be grandsons, Justin Kleam, Trent Bass, Jeffrey McMichael, Kaleb Bass, Randy Childress, Greg Evans, Pete Ridge, Cory Hilton, and Cole Green. Honorary Pallbearers will be Friends and Staff at Garden Estates. The Family will receive friends at the funeral home from  5:30 pm until 7:00 pm, Wednesday, September 15. There will be an additional visitation at Southern Oaks Baptist Church, Tyler, Thursday, September 16, from 10:00 am until service time. Memorials, if desired, may be made to the Southern Oaks Baptist Church 601 East Amherst, Tyler, TX 75701.