Charles Bassham

Charles Bassham, 86, retired employee of Zeneca and resident of Columbia, died Monday, January 9, 2017 at Vanderbilt Medical Center. Funeral services will be conducted Friday at 11:00 A.M. at Oakes & Nichols Funeral Home with Jeremy Butt officiating. Burial will follow in Polk Memorial Gardens. The family will visit with friends Friday from 10:00 - 11:00 A.M. at the funeral home. The family suggests memorials to Columbia Academy, 1101 West Seventh Street, Columbia, TN 38401 or North View Church of Christ Youth Program, 865 Nashville Highway, Columbia, TN 38401. Condolences may be extended online at www.oakesandnichols.com. The Maury County native was the son of the late Floyd B. Bassham and the late Myrtle Isabel Bassham. He was a 1949 graduate of Hay Long High School in Mt. Pleasant and served in the military police with the U. S. Army. He retired from Zeneca after forty-three years' service with the chemical company which underwent several name changes including Stauffer, ICI and Zeneca. A Maury Regional Auxiliary volunteer for several years, Mr. Bassham was a member of the Super Stars. He was a member of the Church of Christ and had most recently attended North View Church of Christ. Survivors include his wife whom he married September 22, 1956, Doris Jones Bassham of Columbia; sister-in-law, Carolyn (W. F.) Banas of Marianna, Florida; niece, Heather Banas of Marianna, Florida; and several cousins. He was preceded in death by two sisters, Elizabeth Bassham and Norma Jean Bassham. Active pallbearers will be Robert Wood, Bobby Wood, Eddie Bassham, Larry Bassham, Matthew Lott, Webb Williams, Daniel Williams, and Lance Williams. Honorary pallbearers will include Charles Hall, George Davis, James Cox, Hobart Gilliam, Billy Hollis, Wayne Dugger, Jerry Ross, Roger Breece, Bill Piper, Michael Haithcoat, John Wright, Barney Wright, Richard James, Darnell James, J. W. Nicholson, W. F. Banas, and David Edwards.