BASS, William Guy

Wickenburg (AZ) Sun Thursday, February 25, 1971 Wickenburg Mourns Passing of Bill Bass Wickenburg's most famous citizen, Bill Bass, died Friday, Feb 20 at his home on Bass Hill overlooking the town he had loved for 55 years. He was 80. He was born in Williams, Ariz., on July 26, 1900--73 miles away from being the first white child born on the rim of the Grand Canyon. Bill came of age exploring the Grand Canyon with his father Capt. William Wallace Bass, who blazed the first trails into the Canyon's wilderness. At the age of 26, in 1926, Bill came to Wickenburg, where he was involved in various business pursuits. Back at the Grand Canyon in 1940 as a tour guide, he met his wife Lenore. They were married in 1941. After a four-year absence from Wickenburg during the war, he returned and built the La Siesta Motel and Kelly's Cafe. Then he began his life-long hobby of photography. He soon established himself as one of the finest photographers of desert scenery and wildlife subjects--with his works appearing in several issues of Arizona Highways. Every night for 24 straight years, he presented free slide programs on Arizona's beauty for all the guests in the Wickenburg area in his famous "Cliff Room" at the La Siesta Motel.