Millicent "Millie" Bassett

We bid farewell to Millicent Frances Bassett, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, scholar, professor and inveterate traveler.  Born November 13, 1930 in Buffalo, NY, she was the daughter of the late Charles Elliott and Frances Long.  

Millie attended SUNY Buffalo, and received a Bachelor of Science in Art Education.  She earned her Master of Science degree in Art and Psychology from Central Connecticut State University.  She raised three amazing children, Carolyn Elizabeth, Christine Frances and William Charles, whom she had with her former husband, stage actor and Professor of Theatre Clyde Harold Bassett.  Millie and Clyde were patrons of both the New York and London theatre scene while married, and enjoyed an active social life hightailing about the country in their bright red convertible.

Millie’s true passion was being an Art Educator for student teachers, mentoring and guiding prospective Art teachers through their college internships, and taking joy in watching them mature from tentative learners into confident, agreeable and capable educators.  She was named “Art Educator of the Year” in the 1980’s, and was Vice President of the National Art Education Association during that time.

Never one to stay idle, Mille had numerous interests, including sketching, writing, reading, doing crosswords and playing Scrabble.  She was an avid gardener, a gourmet chef, a student of genealogy, and a perfect speller.  Through family research, Millie and her cousins, Martha Haas and Barbara Hull, located the church in England where, in 1595, their ancestor, George Hull, was christened.  He came to America in 1630, and is attributed with founding the town of Windsor, CT.

Following her retirement from teaching, Millie was a consummate traveler, visiting Japan, Eastern China and most of Europe.  She was often accompanied on her adventures abroad by her cousins, Martha and Barbara, and her friends, Julie Post, Pat Smith, Eileen Blackham and Poppy Bassos.  Millie meticulously catalogued her travels in photographic, written and artistic journals.

A longtime resident of West Hartford and Farmington, CT, Millie relocated to Taneytown, MD in 2006 to be closer to her daughters.  She leaves behind her daughter, Carolyn Brownawell and son-in-law, Mark Brownawell of Denver, CO; her daughter, Christine Bassett-Jellema of Baltimore, MD and her late wife Pastor Alice Jellema; her son, William Bassett of New Britain, CT; grandson Max Brownawell and his partner Matthew Sitman of New York, NY; grandson John Moore and his wife, Kristen Moore, of Los Angeles, CA; grandson Jordan Moore of Baltimore, MD; granddaughter Jasmine Peters and her husband, David Peters, and their newborn daughter Faye Christine; as well as her brother, Donald Elliott of Penn Valley, CA.

A memorial remembrance and celebration of Millie's life will take place on Monday, January 20, 2020, beginning at 1:30 p.m. at Lorien Assisted Living, 100 Antrim Blvd., in Taneytown, MD.