A funeral service was held Monday at Modesto Christian Center for Reverend Ora Earl Bassard, 86, of Modesto. He died July 20, 2008 in Merced.
Burial was at Ceres Memorial Cemetery under the direction of Cooley Funeral Home in Stockton.
Born July 28, 1921, Mr. Bassard was a native of Beaumont, Texas, where he helped his father run the family farm and train horses. He received Christ as his savior while attending Jones Temple in Beaumont. He married Claudia Rachel Guidry in 1941. By 1946 the growing family of five had moved to Berkeley, where Ora worked at mattress making, carpentry, painting, and upholstery. Mr. Bassard later founded and operated Bassard Upholstery in Modesto for more than 50 years. In 1948, they moved to Hayward and became members of True Holiness Church of God in Christ where he felt the call of God to evangelize. He preached in Hayward, Oakland and Stockton. A vision of a man in a doorway led Ora to Monterey Park Track near Ceres. There he purchased and transformed the Dew Drop Inn into the Peace Church of God in Christ, where he served for over 40 years. Ora was involved in ministerial boards, community improvement projects and served as superintendent of the Greater Modesto District for the Northeast Jurisdiction of the Church of God in Christ.
He leaves behind his wife of 66 years, Claudia Rachel Bassard of Modesto; his children, Ora Earl Bassard, Jr., Arthur C. Bassard, David L. Bassard, and Paul A. Bassard, all of Hayward, Shirley J. Sypert of Honolulu, Hawaii, Betitia J. Bean-Boscolo of Merced, Bridgett H. Martin and Tee Butler, both of Modesto, and Williette Harris of Stone Mountain, Ga.; his sister, Rosa Bassard-Bradley of Oakland; two brothers, Lewis Bassard of Modesto, and Edward Bassard of Hayward; and 36 grandchildren, 56 great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by sons Mark Stephen Bassard, Phillip M. Bassard Sr., and Jared J. Bassard, and his parents, Jim and Helen Bassard.
-Ceres (Calif.) Courier /July 30, 2008
Burial was at Ceres Memorial Cemetery under the direction of Cooley Funeral Home in Stockton.
Born July 28, 1921, Mr. Bassard was a native of Beaumont, Texas, where he helped his father run the family farm and train horses. He received Christ as his savior while attending Jones Temple in Beaumont. He married Claudia Rachel Guidry in 1941. By 1946 the growing family of five had moved to Berkeley, where Ora worked at mattress making, carpentry, painting, and upholstery. Mr. Bassard later founded and operated Bassard Upholstery in Modesto for more than 50 years. In 1948, they moved to Hayward and became members of True Holiness Church of God in Christ where he felt the call of God to evangelize. He preached in Hayward, Oakland and Stockton. A vision of a man in a doorway led Ora to Monterey Park Track near Ceres. There he purchased and transformed the Dew Drop Inn into the Peace Church of God in Christ, where he served for over 40 years. Ora was involved in ministerial boards, community improvement projects and served as superintendent of the Greater Modesto District for the Northeast Jurisdiction of the Church of God in Christ.
He leaves behind his wife of 66 years, Claudia Rachel Bassard of Modesto; his children, Ora Earl Bassard, Jr., Arthur C. Bassard, David L. Bassard, and Paul A. Bassard, all of Hayward, Shirley J. Sypert of Honolulu, Hawaii, Betitia J. Bean-Boscolo of Merced, Bridgett H. Martin and Tee Butler, both of Modesto, and Williette Harris of Stone Mountain, Ga.; his sister, Rosa Bassard-Bradley of Oakland; two brothers, Lewis Bassard of Modesto, and Edward Bassard of Hayward; and 36 grandchildren, 56 great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by sons Mark Stephen Bassard, Phillip M. Bassard Sr., and Jared J. Bassard, and his parents, Jim and Helen Bassard.
-Ceres (Calif.) Courier /July 30, 2008
