Charles Alvin Bass, Sr., 82, of Williamsburg, Virginia passed away on September 13, 2013 in Newport News, Virginia. Born in Washington D.C. in October 1930, he was the son of the late Sampson Howard and Martha Louise Bass.

Mr. Bass was a retired engineer employed by the Department of the Navy. He received his Bachelors of Science in Electrical Engineering at George Washington University then worked at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington D.C., and later at the Naval Ocean Systems Center in San Diego, California. After retiring from federal service, he continued work in his own private consulting practice supporting defense research and development. Throughout his career he worked on the forefront of computer science, communications and navigation, and participated in many significant advances in these areas. After retiring he and his wife Frances settled in Williamsburg, where he pursued travel and hobbies including photography, building his own computer, and reviving a long-abandoned passion for playing the saxophone.

Charles Bass is survived by Frances Ann Bass, his wife of 57 years, and six children: Catherine Diane Bass Goodson and her husband, Ken, of Tacoma, WA; Charles A. Bass Jr. and his wife, Sue, of Woodbridge, VA; Mary Frances Peasley and her husband Bob of Fountain Inn, SC; Patricia Jean Bass of Phoenix, AZ; Stephen Lewis Bass of Fort Collins, CO; and Michael Andrew Bass and his wife, Seri, of Livermore, CA.; along with 16 grandchildren. He is also survived by his brother, Sampson H. Bass, Jr. of Tappahannock, VA, and his sister Elizabeth A. Reich, of Winterhaven, FL.

Funeral services will be held at 11 AM on Saturday, September 21 at Bucktrout of Williamsburg Funeral Home, and his ashes will be interred in the columbarium at St. Bedeís Catholic Church, Williamsburg, VA.