The Harry W. Bass, Jr. Collection – Part IV

Harry Wesley Bass, Jr.

Harry Wesley Bass, Jr., was born on January 6, 1927, in Oklahoma City. He spent his childhood in Dallas where he graduated from the day school later known as St. Mark’s Academy. His higher education took place at the University of Texas and at Southern Methodist University, the last being located in Dallas not far from where he made his home in recent decades.

During World War II he served in the Navy. After the war he represented the family oil interests in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, then came back to Dallas where he played a prominent part in oil exploration and served as president of H.W. Bass and Sons, Inc.

In the 1950s he took a great interest in Republican politics and in 1957 was Dallas County chairman for the Republican Party. He played a prominent part in advancing the interests of the Republican Party in a district that was primarily Democratic. Later he served as a state committeeman for the Republican Party representing the Dallas area.

Subsequently he became interested in computers, and computerized the party’s members in his region. Later he set up a computer base for his home church, the Highland Park United Methodist Church. In the early 1990s, Harry was one of the first to make wide use of the Internet and e-mail, and in the area of numismatics he certainly was in the forefront of the new discipline.

During the 1970s and 1980s he was involved in the management of the Vail ski resort in Colorado and the development of the nearby Beaver Creek ski resort. In 1978 he successfully did battle with 20th Century Fox for control of Vail Associates Inc. Bass served as chairman of the board of Vail Associates and did much during the growth phases of the resort’s development, continuing his involvement through 1985. At a special ceremony held in 1999 a public fountain in Vail was dedicated to his memory. The inscription reads:

The writer (QDB) enjoyed viewing the fountain last summer in the company of Doris (Mrs. Harry) Bass.

Among his local affiliations he was a member of the Dallas Country Club, the Book Hollow Golf Club, the Idle Wild and Calyx Groups, and in the 1950s was first president of the Dallas Ski Club, which he helped to form. He also served as president of the Sertoma Club in Dallas, a well-known service organization.

From 1978 through 1984 Harry Bass served as president of the American Numismatic Society, and before and after that date he was a councilor of the Society. In recent times the Harry W. Bass, Jr. Research Foundation has made important gifts in several areas and is now working with the ANA Museum in Colorado Springs for an educational display that will further share the Bass numismatic legacy.

Harry Bass was born to Wilma Schuessler and Harry Wesley Bass. At the time of his death, from complications of lung disease on April 4, 1998, he had been pre-deceased by both of his parents and his eldest son, Harry Wesley Bass III. He was survived by his wife Doris and four grown children: John Harold Bass, Carol Ann Bass, Robert Stephen Bass, and Beverly Bass Haralson, along with seven grandchildren, his brother Richard D. Bass of Dallas (who made a guest appearance at our Bass III sale and was warmly welcomed), and his stepsons Michael Calhoun and David Calhoun.

In the preparation of the present catalogue and attendant arrangements, much of the coordination with the Harry W. Bass, Jr. Foundation has been handled by David Calhoun, who has been developing his own interest in American numismatics and can "talk coins" very effectively. What an impressive legacy to draw from!