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- Anchorage Daily News, Alaska
April 30, 1994
J. Guy Bassett
James Guy Bassett III, 44, died April 28 in Anchorage of pneumocystis pneumonia, an AIDS-related virus. In keeping with Mr. Bassett's wishes, no service will be held. Instead, friends are invited to a reception in celebration of his life to be held at the Anchorage Museum of History and Art on Monday from 6 to 8 p.m.
Born March 24, 1950, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he had lived in Alaska since 1974 and was well-known in the Anchorage area community for his professional and volunteer work. Mr. Bassett earned his bachelor of architecture degree in 1973 from Pennsylvania State University. Following graduation, he moved to San Francisco and shortly thereafter came to Alaska with his partner, James Alvin Williams. They owned and managed the Beachcombers, a hotel, restaurant and bar complex in Kodiak, until 1976, when they moved to Anchorage.
Mr. Bassett worked in food services as manager of the Downtown Deli and Cafe from 1976 to 1979 and then as captain at Josephine's restaurant. In 1981, he established his own business, Art Services North, specializing in exhibition design, trade shows, special events production and technical theater work. Until he sold the business in 1992, he designed and constructed many exhibits for the Anchorage Museum of History and Art, the Imaginarium, the Anchorage Opera, the Anchorage Organizing Committee, the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce, Jan-Dar Productions, and the National Park Service, among others. Mr. Bassett began his volunteer activities at the Anchorage Museum in 1979 as a docent, giving tours of the museum's collections. He served on the Anchorage Museum Commission from 1986 to 1989, the board of directors of the Anchorage Museum Association from 1984 to 1990, and on the building committee for the 1986 expansion of the museum. He was a member of the Municipality's Public Art Committee, which oversees the 1 Percent for Art Program, and volunteered the specialized work of Art Services North to aid in the maintenance and repair of public art installations in schools and other public buildings. At the time of his death he was engaged in compiling a catalog of public art in Anchorage in hopes of developing a published guide to the collection. He will be remembered with respect and affection for this creativity, his energy and his ability to inspire and give joy to others.
Mr. Bassett is survived by his parents, Claire McLane Bassett and James Guy Bassett Jr. of Export, Pennsylvania; four sisters, Lane Neff and Louise Weir of Murrysville, Pennsylvania; Ruth Wepfer of Export, and Allison Carmichael of Piercy, California; one brother, Stuart Bassett of Medina, Ohio; eleven nieces and nephews; and many friends. His lover of 21 years, Jim Williams, preceded him in death in November, 1993. Memorial tributes may be sent to the Alaska AIDS Assistance Association, the Anchorage Museum Association or to any cause of the donor's choice. Cremation arrangements were handled by Kehl's Forest Lawn Mortuary.
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Bassett Family Association Database
1950 - 1994 (44 years)