| Notes |
- Charles W.D. Bassett
Charles (Kim) Bassett, a spirited and accomplished member of the
Belmont Hill faculty for twenty-eight years, died in Naples, Florida, on April
8th, 2002, after a brief illness. He was 68.
Mr. Bassett, who lived in Acton, Massachusetts, had been a wint
resident of Naples since his retirement in 1994. He was diagnosed with cancer
in February and had begun treatments for it, but his death was hastened by
heart disease and two strokes.
The son of Francis and Rosamond Bassett, Mr. Bassett was born in 1934
and grew up in Taunton, Massachusetts. He graduated from Middlesex School in
1953 and from Boston University in 1967. At B.U., he later earned a master's
degree in education, coached rowing, and served as supervisor of Miles
Standish Hall and a counselor to undergraduates. After a term of service in
the Army reserve, he was appointed to the faculty of Belmont Hill in 1966 as a
counselor and head of varsity crew. Shortly afterward, he became a dormitory
master in Speare House, a role he would fill for many years.
Drawing on his B.U. counseling experience, Mr. Bassett introduced an
introductory course in psychology for Fifth and Sixth Formers around 1970 that
became a popular fixture of the curriculum, and he later taught an
introductory economics class to the same age group, with emphasis on the
nature of the market system and on investment strategy.
In both subjects, he was no slave to this curriculum, however, and he
frequently used class meetings as opportunities for free discussion of
important developments at school and beyond or for a kind of group counseling
in life skills. As an Upper School counselor of individual boys, he instilled
confidence and helped many work through their problems and stresses at school.
Mr. Bassett led the Belmont Hill crew program with spirit, color and
vigor for nearly twenty years as head varsity coach. His oarsmen enjoyed many
successes during this period, in both seasonal races and the annual New
England championship regattas at Lake Quinsigamond. Two of his first boats, in
1971 and 1982, went on to win national schoolboy championship
His oarsmen and students remember Mr. Bassett's challenging,
supportive coaching and teaching with gratitude, and his faculty friends and
colleagues recall fondly his collegiality, hospitality and infectious humor. By
both his physical stature and the range of his accomplishments and service,
Kim Bassett will be remembered as an imposing figure at the school. A large
company of his family, friends, former colleagues, students and oarsmen joined
together for a service in celebration of his life on May 18th in the Hamilton
Chapel and later in the day gathered at the Charles River for the dedication
of the renovated Belmont Hill-Winsor Boat House, one bay of which now bears
his name.
Mr. Bassett is survived by his sisters, Cynthia Polhemus, Diana
Perron, and Jacqueline Bassett, and several nieces and nephews.
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Bassett Family Association Database
1934 - 2002 (68 years)