Lillie Emilie Bass, 96, of Kansas City, passed away Tuesday, March 31, 2026, at Armour Oaks Senior Living in Kansas City. She was born on August 6, 1929, on a farm in Benton County near Mora, Missouri, a daughter of Theodore J. and Sophia (Brauer) Klindworth.
In 1929, she was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church at Brauersville. At the age of three, her mother passed away and she moved in with her Aunt Emilie and Uncle Herman Brauer. When she was six years old, she moved back in with her father and step-mother, Margaret, and attended Brauersville School and Bahrenburg School through the eighth grade. Lillie was confirmed on August 29, 1943, at Immanuel Lutheran Church at Brauersville by Pastor Rudolph Kranz.
She was always helping her father, Ted, on the farm until they moved to town and then she would help elderly people. She moved with her family to Sedalia when she was 15 and went to work for the Sedalia Drug Store. One day while walking past the fire department, she caught the eye of a young firefighter named Charlie Bass who would soon ask her out. They were married on October 30, 1949, at her parent's home in Sedalia by Pastor Rudolph Kranz. This union was blessed with the gift of five children: David, Sylvia Lee, Katie, Larry, and Donald.
While raising her children, Lillie worked at Beverly's Cafe and Archie's Seed Store in the summer. In the early 1960s, she and Charlie opened the Hill Top Marina Café on South 65 Highway. She also worked in the Bothwell Hospital coffee shop until moving to Kansas City in 1967 and going to work for Crown Drug Store and St. Luke's Hospital Cafeteria. Later, she managed Dollar General and then a greeter and manager of the Garden Center at Walmart, retiring at the age of 75.
While in Kansas City, she was an election judge for over 20 years and a faithful member of Ruskin Heights Lutheran Church, where she was on the pastoral care ministry team and received the Stephens Ministry Certificate in 1983 and the Golden Heart Award in 1985 for service above and beyond for the ELCA Church.
Lillie moved to Senior Living and enjoyed doing activities, quilting, and going to church at St. Luke's United Methodist Church where she was a faithful member for the last 35 years. In 1995, she completed the St. Luke's Disciples Bible Study Courses. Lillie's love for her kids and tending to her plants, as she was known for her phenomenal green thumb.
She is survived by her son David Bass (Stephanie) of Kansas City, Missouri Katie Radke (Stan) of Omaha, Nebraska, and Don Bass (Dana) of Pomme de Terre Lake, Missouri; nine grandchildren, Michael Bass, Rick Lindgren (Sara), Andrew Lindgren (Julia), Austin Lindgren, Alex Lindgren (Amber), Erin Beerman (Jared), C.J. Bass, Jill Zimmerman (Brandon), and Shannon Kisner (Taynia); twenty-one great-grandchildren, Ariella, Parker, Ethan, Olivia, Jillian, Payton Lillie, Vecente, Caitlyn, Tucker, Lauren, Bella, Thea, Jacob, Keirsten, Jordan, Marley, Thomas, Korbin, Logan, and Macey; and many nieces and nephews.
Lillie was preceded in death by her mother, Sophia Klindworth, father and step-mother, Theodore and Margaret Klindworth, husband, Charles Bass, daughter, Sylvia Lee Bass, son, Larry Bass, brother, Walter Klindworth, and sisters, Dora Kueck and Martha Bonin on March 20, 2026.
The family will receive friends beginning at noon on Saturday, April 11, 2026, at St. Luke's United Methodist Church, 9420 James A. Reed Road, Kansas City with funeral services to be held at 1:00 p.m. with Dr. Jim Simpson officiating. Committal services will be held at 5:00 p.m. at Brauersville Lutheran Church near Cole Camp followed by burial in Brauersville Lutheran Cemetery. Pallbearers will be Rick Lindgren, Andrew Lindgren, Austin Lindgren, Alex Lindgren, Michael Bass, Jared Beerman, Jill Zimmerman, and Brandon Zimmerman. Honorary pallbearers will be Erin Beerman, C.J. Bass, and James McConnico.
