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- Tillamook Headlight-Herald, Tuesday, 13 Mar 2007
Kathryn Jo Bassett
Kathryn Jo Bassett of Beaver died at Tuality Community Hospital in Hillsboro Feb. 27, 2007, after a seven-month struggle with cancer. She was 55.
Kathy was born Dec. 17, 1951, in Portland to Ray and Patricia Eden. She was raised in North Bend and Corvallis and graduated from Corvallis High School. She attended the University of Oregon and State University of New York, Harpur College in Binghamton, NY.
A true child of the '60s, Kathy moved where her spirit moved her. She lived for a short time in Manhattan and San Francisco, and took an extensive hitchhiking journey across Europe. With a mischievous twinkle in her eye, she lightheartedly bragged of being French-kissed by Chuck Berry and smoking a doobie with Jerry Garcia, her family said.
When she was ready to settle down, she and her mother opened The Doll Nook in Seaside in the mid-1970s. Known for her wonderful cloth dolls, Sew-Me Doll Patterns and artistically sewn portrait dolls, Kathy also learned the art of antique doll repair and costuming. Her clients included hundreds of children who have grown to adulthood playing with, sleeping with and loving their "babies", and adult doll lovers and collectors from around the country. A stickler for detail, Kathy's doll repair work was meticulously done and her costumes were always created from vintage fabrics reflecting the age and style of the doll.
"Busy hands are happy hands," Kathy would always say, and her hands were among the busiest. A constant knitter, she created numberless pairs of wool socks, hot pads, washcloths, soap bags and authentic English-style Golliwog dolls. On the celebration of Golliwog's 100th birthday, she decided the black, children's storybook doll needed a girlfriend. So, she created Lolla Palooza. She also was a talented cross-stitcher and embroiderer.
It was in Seaside that Kathy met, befriended, courted and married Earl Frederick (Fred) Bassett. Fred was advertising manager at the Seaside Signal newspaper at the time, and often said, "Kathy wouldn't buy an advertisement from me, so I took a chance and asked her to marry me instead." The couple was married at the historic Vesper Chapel on the banks of the Nehalem River near Birkenfeld in 1981.
In January 1982, Kathy gave birth to their first child, Bonnie Ann. Bonnie was born seven weeks prematurely and the couple spent the first several weeks of her life in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of Oregon Health Sciences University. Shortly after bringing her home, the Bassetts moved to Gresham, where Fred became classified advertising manager for the Gresham Outlook newspaper.
In August 1983, Kathy gave birth to their son, Robin Frederick. Immediately following Robin's birth, the family moved back to Seaside where Fred took the reins of Seaside Signal as general manager. Shortly after their return to Seaside, Kathy's mother succumbed to cancer, but Kathy continued their doll business from the family home.
In addition, she steered the family course toward home educating their two children. A lifelong believer in education for the joy of it, Kathy began teaching the children the joy of reading at a very early age. WIth her constant guidance and a strong footing in the basics, Bonnie and Robin were able to choose their own course of study through their elementary years.
In 1992, when it became apparent that both Kathy and Fred would need to dedicate their lives to the educational course they had chosen, they sold their Seaside home, Fred quit his job and the family set out on a six-month journey on the Oregon Trail. With the kids, the dog Minnie, and a few worldly belongings, Fred and Kathy hit the road in their version of an ox team and covered wagon - an old Plymouth station wagon and a tent trailer. They followed Fred's pioneer ancestors' trail backwards, camping on significant sites in their journey and researching details of their trials and tribulations. Kathy would later recall that they put 15,000 miles on their car to see as much as they could of the 2,000-mile Oregon Trail.
On their return to Oregon, the Bassetts vowed to settle as their ancestors did, by picking the place they wanted to live and then doing whatever they could to survive there. Their only criterion was that they live and work on the same piece of property so that the children's education could be integrated into their lifestyle.
In April 1993, Kathy and Fred purchased the historic Beaver Creamery Association cheese factory in South Tillamook County. In June of that year they opened the Beaver Mercantile. With an atmosphere of an Oregon Trail era general store, the whole Bassett family was involved in the daily operations, including the now famous and often remembered free popcorn to every customer.
Kathy and Fred continued to educate their children at home through completiion of high school. Bonnie and Robin both went on to become honor students at Lane Community College in Eugene.
From the age of 3, Kathy was an avid reader, which led her to her love of words. A constant journal keeper from an early age, Kathy's love for the English language led her to writing two full length books - Backwards Argonauts on the Oregon Trail and Arctic Adventure. Both books detail, in her inimitable style, the educational travels she and Fred took while home schooling their children. Although her books have not yet been published, Kathy's family has vowed to fulfill her dream of seeing these books in print.
For the first 11 years of their life in Beaver, the Bassetts lived in a decrepit 1970s vintage mobile home. Kathy vowed to do anything, including running away from home, to get out of that "trashy trailer", as she called it. So, as was her way, and in addition to running the Beaver Mercantile and her doll business, home schooling her children, looking after her husband and writing two books, she undertook the task of working with Fred to build her own home in the back of the old cheese factory. She and Fred designed the rustic, all-wood home, and handpicked every piece of recycled or new lumber used. While Fred rebuilt the exterior walls, Kathy, by herself, laid all the joists and fir flooring for the entire first floor. She built cabinets, put up knotty pine and recycled fir and worked with Fred to paint, wallpaper, sand, varnish, plumb and electrify the home. After more than four years of construction, Kathy and Fred moved into their (still unfinished) home on her birthday in December 2003.
Kathy's family and friends remember her as a person who fought vehemently against injustices in her family's life and her community. But, mostly, she is remembered as a person who was always happy, always seeing the bright side of life, and always seeing the best in a wide variety of people.
As she struggled with her illness and since her passing, thoughts and rememberances have come from every corner of the state and from all around the Northwest and beyond. "The Aunt who played tag with me," "the tall skinny lady with glasses who made the good popcorn," "the special spirit who accepted me for who I am, despite my wackiness," "the doll doctor who so intricately and delicately restored my mother's doll" - she was all of these things.
Kathy is survived by her husband Fred, her daughter and son-in-law, Bonnie and RJ Wynia of Tillamook, and her son and daughter-in-law, Robin and Amy Bassett of Eugene. She is also survived by her father and stepmother, Ray and Laura Eden of Salem, her brother and sister-in-law Chris and Trish Eden of Seattle, her sister and brother-in-law, Susanna and Don Harto of Ashland, and her sister and brother-in-law Barbara and David Haas of Clatskanie. Among her survivors are also her step-daughter and son-in-law Dawn Bassett and Donald Chambers of Vancouver, B.C. Canada, and her stepdaughter Trista Bassett of Petersborough, Ontario, Canada.
A list of Kathy's survivors would not be complete without listing her aunt and uncle Donna and Harold Ause of Tigard. At the passing of Kathy's mother, Donna and Harold took on the role of parents and grandparents to Kathy and Fred and their children.
The memories of Kathy's infectious laugh and magnetic smile will bring joy and warmth through the days ahead.
A celebration - The Miracle of Kathy - will be held at the family home in the back of the Beaver Mercantile, 24747 U.S. Hwy. 101 S. in Beaver, from 2 to 8 p.m., Saturday, March 31, and from noon to 6 p.m., Sunday, April 1.
Potluck finger foods and/or beverages are welcomed.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Kathy Bassett Medical Fund accounts established at any branch of U.S. Bank and Sterling Savings Bank to help with her medical care during her illness. These funds will now be used to help Kathy's family fulfill her dream of seeing her books in print. Donations may also be made in Kathy's memory to Tillamook County General Hospital.
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Bassett Family Association Database
1951 - 2007 (55 years)