July 13, 2015

Lloyd Bass with his RayBan sunglasses, ca 1980

Panama Canal

My former father-in-law, Lloyd Bass, was an incredible man. Immensely humble, always smiling and joking, ready to help anyone, anywhere, any time on a moment’s notice. People as down-to-earth and solidly good as Lloyd are extremely rare.

Lloyd and his wife Jean loved to travel. Even after he suffered a stroke which left him with limited use of his right side. he refused to slow down. They continued to travel the U.S. and abroad. Like most, we look back at the photos of our parents from years ago, and many are of their vacations and trips. In these photos, Lloyd inevitably was smiling that big grin of his, and often wearing his RayBan sunglasses.

Lloyd passed away in December of 2005. Lloyd and Jean’s daughter, Ann, who has remained my best friend, recently gave me Lloyd’s RayBans, and told me that Lloyd would have loved to travel to the places I will go on this trip. So in memory of a great man, Lloyd will be riding along with me in spirit, and his RayBan sunglasses will make one more trip around the world.

Lloyd Rides Again