William Kerr Bassett, II, peacefully left this Earth on January 13, 2026, at the Hospice House of Southern Kentucky in Bowling Green, KY.
He was born on October 28, 1944, in Long Beach, CA, to William and Minerva Bassett. “Little” Bill was raised in Long Beach, CA, Alexandria, VA, and Bethesda, MD. He attended The Primary Day School in Bethesda, MD and graduated in 1962 from Bethesda Chevy Chase High School in Bethesda, MD. He earned an Associate of Arts Degree from Cumberland University in Lebanon, TN, in 1965, and received a Bachelor of Arts from Sewanee: The University of the South, Sewanee, TN, in 1967. At Sewanee, he was inducted into the Delta Tau Delta fraternity and became an active lifetime member.
On June 1, 1968, he married Janice Kyle Bassett of Hartsville, TN. They lived in New Orleans, LA, while Bill attended Tulane University Law School, earning his Juris Doctor of Law in 1970. After graduating, they moved to Atlanta, GA for several years before settling down in Tennessee. Bill passed the Bar Exam in three states (GA, TN, and TX) and had a private Attorney of Law practice in Gallatin, TN, where he and Janice raised their two daughters.
Bill was elected multiple times as the Democratic State Executive Committeeman for Tennessee District 18, and he attended multiple National Democratic Conventions. He Loved history (especially anything about the Civil War); keeping politics and current affairs; watching sports; playing trivia with family and friends (which he won frequently); returning to Sewanee for Party Weekends; and attending Tulane Alumni Crawfish Boils. In January 2025, he moved to Charter Senior Living in Bowling Green, KY, where he quickly made friends.
He is preceded in death by his parents William Kerr Bassett of Providence, KY and Minerva Bone Bassett of Jacksonville, TX, and younger brother John Bone Bassett. He is survived by two loving daughters- Jennifer (Thomas) Nelson of Portland, TN and Deborah (Christian) Parrish of Bowling Green, KY – a grandson, Kyle Rudzinski of Gallatin, TN, and an aunt, Dr. Mary Alice Bone Adamson of Jacksonville, TX.
A memorial service will be held at 4 o’clock in the afternoon on Sunday, January 25, 2026, in the Chapel of Charter Senior Living, 445 Middle Bridge Road West, Bowling Green, KY, 42103, and a ‘Celebration of Life’ will be held in Gallatin, TN, to be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to be made to the Hospice House of Southern Kentucky or another charity of your choice in honor of William Kerr Bassett, II.
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This obituary was published by J.C. Kirby and Son Lovers Lane Chapel – Bowling Green.
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