Rev. F. Kaye Bass, 94, of Frankfort, passed away Wednesday, October 23, 2019 at Wesley Manor, where he resided since July of, 2007. Kaye was born Aug. 27, 1925 in Indianapolis to Floyd and Viola (Rosenfield) Bass. He graduated from Pike High School in 1943. During World War II he served in the United States Army Air Corps as a 2nd lieutenant and a B-17 navigator. He graduated with honors from the Purdue School of Agriculture in Horticulture in 1948 and worked one year at his father’s landscape nursery in Indianapolis. Beginning in 1949, he prepared for the ministry at Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, IL, earning his Master of Divinity degree in 1953.
Rev. Bass was a member of the Indiana conference of the United Methodist Church, retiring after 39 years of active service in 1988. Churches he served (all in Indiana) included: New Haven UMC, 1983-88; Logansport District Superintendent, 1977-83; Bluffton First UMC, 1973-77; Elkhart First UMC, 1969-73; Lafayette Christ Methodist Church, 1960-69; Flora Methodist Church, 1956-60; Lafayette Stidham Methodist Church, 1953-56; and Reynolds and Guernsey Methodist Churches, 1949-53.
His memberships and volunteer activities include serving as a docent at the Museum at Prophetstown, counselor for the State Senior Health Insurance Information Program (SHIP), former trustee of the West Lafayette First United Methodist Church, Advanced Master Gardner and former president of the Tippecanoe County Master Gardeners Association, and former Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Indiana United Methodist Federal Credit Union. He was a long time member of the North Indiana Conference Board of Pensions. Rev. Bass was a delegate of the 1976 General Conference of United Methodist Church and the 1968 and 1976 Jurisdictional Conferences, plus the 1976 World Methodist Conference in Dublin, Ireland. He was a member of the Purdue Alumni Association and former member of American Legion Post 38, Flora Masonic Lodge 605, and Fort Wayne Scottish Rite.
Rev. Bass is survived by his wife of 71 years, Mary Jane (Dean) Bass; sons, David Bass, of Richmond, and Mark (Cindy) Bass, of Lafayette; daughters, Elaine Drew, of Indianapolis, and Gail (Rick) Voteau, of Chesterfield, MO; brother, Richard (Jan) Bass; and grandchildren, Jared Bass, Russell (Emilie) Drew, Renee Voteau, and Stephanie Voteau. He was preceded in death by his parents and a brother Floyd Bass, Jr.
Visitation will be held on Saturday, October 26, 2019, at Genda Funeral Home in Frankfort, from 10:00 a.m. to the start of the funeral service at 11:00 a.m. Committal service will begin on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. at Tippecanoe Memory Gardens. Online condolences may be made at www.gendafuneralhome.com.