Ann Elizabeth Ratliff Bass

December 13, 1937 – July 22, 2023

Ann Elizabeth Ratliff Bass, a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and sister, passed away at home on July 22, 2023, at the age of 85. 

Ann was born on December 13, 1937 in Barksdale Field, Louisiana. She grew up in Haskell, Texas, graduating from Haskell High School in 1956. She was a voracious reader since childhood, even in the days when the Haskell library was a tiny single room in the courthouse. For the rest of her life, she was never without a book. She also had fond memories of cheering on the Haskell Indians football team from the stands.

Ann graduated from the Harris School of Nursing at Texas Christian University in 1960. While she was a student there, she met the love of her life, Lonny Bass. Ann and Lonny quickly fell in love. The US Air Force stationed Lonny in Darmstadt, Germany, and Ann followed him there to get married soon after her college graduation. Ann delighted in telling stories about these early days of her marriage in Germany, and she could often be seen holding hands with Lonny even in her final years. The couple had been looking forward to their 63rd wedding anniversary in September of this year. 

With her husband, Ann raised two children: Jamie Bass Marucha and Hugh Bass. She was a meticulous homemaker and stayed home to raise her children until they were in high school. Her children remember that she always encouraged them to follow their dreams. Later on, she adored being a grandmother, called “Granny Annie” by her three grandchildren.

She spent her career in several healthcare workplaces, in roles such as Activities Director, Director of Volunteers, and nurse. She was also known for her generous service to the community. She loved helping early readers, volunteered at schools, served as a scout leader, set up cots and did laundry for shelter nights to welcome unhoused men, and administered her church library. Ann and Lonny were good stewards of God’s earth, becoming early adopters of recycling, composting much of their kitchen waste for their garden, and advocating for light rail in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Ann was an adventurous traveler and “mover”; she lived in 3 countries and 10 US states, and visited all 50 US states and 50 countries. Friends and family knew her for her razor-sharp wit and talent for storytelling. She was a lifelong Methodist who was deeply guided by her faith in God. Her loved ones will remember her as our angel in her afterlife, as she was during her lifetime.

She is predeceased by her father Hugh Ratliff and mother Mary Kimbrough Ratliff. She is survived by her husband Lonny (Bob) Bass, sister Gail Jones, daughter and son-in-law Jamie and Phil Marucha, son Hugh Bass, and grandchildren Madeline, Tom, and Max.

Ann’s life will be celebrated in an intimate service at 1:00 P.M. on August 10 at Christ United Methodist Church in Cedar Mill, Oregon. In lieu of flowers, please make a remembrance donation to the Assistance League of Greater Portland or your local library.