Carole Jean Gilchrist Bassett went to God on Saturday, September 23, 2012. Beloved wife of Kimbrough Stone Bassett, and mother to Leslie, Diane and Kim "Skip" Bassett, she was an active resident of Palos Verdes Estates for 38 years. A member of the Palos Verdes Peppers, the P.V. Beach Club, and P.V. Tennis Club, she was also an animal lover and a gracious hostess. Carole was still leading the newsletter for her class from Trinity College and became an active volunteer at A.F.V.W., a retirement village in Riverside to which she and Kim moved in 2007. She will be deeply missed by all who knew her. In lieu of flowers, donations in her honor to the scholarship fund at Trinity College would be appreciated. Checks can be sent to Trinity Washington University General Scholarship Fund, at 125

Michigan Ave. NE, Washington, DC 20017. Please sign the guest book at www.dailybreeze.com/obits.

You may also be interested in the eulogy which was read at the service for her:



or every sunrise, there is a sunset. For every spring, an autumn. For every birth, a death. The important thing is not how much time we have, but what we do with the time we are given.

Carole Jean Gilchrist Bassett spent her time giving love, first to her family, then to friends and neighbors, and then pets and other animals, and even plants. Nothing pleased her more than to see a living thing flourish and prosper and to know that she had something to do with it.

She put everyone else ahead of herself. As a child, her letters to relatives would have a sentence ore two about her own activities, and then several pages about the other members of her family. When she finished college, she gave up her own career plans to care for her injured mother. When her mother recovered, she got a job and turned her entire pay check over to her parents to help pay for the education of her brothers. After she got married, her own family became the focus of her attention.

At the age of 25, she was afflicted with Crohn's disease, and endured several surgeries. For the rest of her life, she did not enjoy a single day without some form of discomfort. She hid her affliction behind a bright smile and a constant effort to be helpful in whatever was happening.

For those she leaves behind, may the wind whisper her name, may the skies be as blue as her eyes, and may the sun shine upon us with the warmth of her beautiful smile, And for Carole herself, may God and His angels welcome her to Heaven with the same generous, sweet love she gave to all around her.