{{Short description|American socialite, philanthropist & matriarch to billionaire Bass brothers of Fort Worth}} {{Use American English|date=April 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2026}} {{Infobox person | name = Nancy Lee Bass | image = | caption = | birth_name = Nancy Lee Muse | birth_date = March 7, 1917 | birth_place = Fort Worth, Texas, US | death_date = {{Death date and age|2013|2|28|1917|3|7}} | death_place = Fort Worth, Texas, US | death_cause = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | nationality = | other_names = | known_for = | education = | employer = | occupation = Philanthropist | title = | term = | predecessor = | successor = | party = | boards = | spouse = {{marriage|Perry Richardson Bass|1941|2006|end=died}} | children = Sid Bass<br/>Lee Bass<br/>Ed Bass<br/>Robert Bass | parents = | relatives = Sid W. Richardson (great-uncle-in-law)<br/>Hyatt Bass (granddaughter) }} '''Nancy Lee Bass''' (March 7, 1917 – February 28, 2013) was an American philanthropist. She was known as the "First Lady of Fort Worth, Texas."<ref name="stevecampbell">Steve Campbell, [http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/03/01/4653160/bass-family-matriarch-dies-at.html Nancy Lee Bass was the "first lady of Fort Worth"], ''Fort Worth Star-Telegram'', March 1, 2013</ref>
==Early life== Nancy Lee Muse was born on March 7, 1917, in Fort Worth, Texas.<ref name="startelegram">[http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/03/16/4707353/nancy-lee-bass-95-eulogized-as.html Nancy Lee Bass, 95, eulogized as philanthropic 'queen' of Fort Worth], ''Fort Worth Star-Telegram'', March 16, 2013</ref><ref name="alanpeppard">Alan Peppard, [http://www.dallasnews.com/obituary-headlines/20130301-obituary-nancy-lee-bass-fort-worth-matriarch-dies-at-95.ece Obituary: Nancy Lee Bass, Fort Worth matriarch, dies at 95], ''The Dallas Morning News'', March 1, 2013</ref> Her father was Ewell H. Muse and her mother, Roberta Maddox Muse.<ref name="startelegram"/> She grew up in Fort Worth, where she learned to play the piano from a young age.<ref name="alanpeppard"/><ref name="trailoffame">[http://www.texastrailoffame.org/inductees/perry-nancy-lee-bass/ Texas Trail of Fame: Perry and Nancy Lee Bass]</ref> She was educated at Central High School, later known as Paschal High School, in Fort Worth.<ref name="alanpeppard"/><ref name="trailoffame"/> She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 1937.<ref name="startelegram"/><ref name="trailoffame"/><ref name="wfaa">[http://www.wfaa.com/story/news/local/2014/08/18/14048444/ Nancy Lee Bass dies at 95] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141108121945/http://www.wfaa.com/story/news/local/2014/08/18/14048444/ |date=2014-11-08 }}, ''WFAA'', March 1, 2013</ref>
==Philanthropy== She donated to the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, and the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame, all of which are based in Fort Worth.<ref name="wfaa"/> She served on the Boards of Trustees of the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, the University of Texas at Austin and the Smithsonian Institution.<ref name="alanpeppard"/> She also served as Vice President of the Sid W. Richardson Foundation, named for her husband's uncle.<ref name="stevecampbell"/> The Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Performance Hall was named after her husband and her, after her friend, pianist Van Cliburn, suggested it. The Bass Performance Hall held the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition where Bass contributed and took part on the advisory board.<ref name="wfaa"/><ref name="stevecampbell"/><ref name="myfox">Dionne Anglin, [http://www.myfoxdfw.com/story/21439675/fort-worths-nancy-lee-bass-dies Fort Worth's Nancy Lee Bass dies], ''Fox 4'', March 2, 2013</ref> Additionally, she was a member of the Junior League, the Jewel Charity Ball, and the Fort Worth Garden Club.<ref name="stevecampbell"/> She was also a past President of The Assembly.<ref name="stevecampbell"/> She became a member of the First United Methodist Church of Fort Worth in 1925.<ref name="businesswire">[http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20130305006633/en/United-Methodist-Church-Fort-Worth-Honors-Nancy#.VF3mGxYhqSo First United Methodist Church of Fort Worth Honors Nancy Lee Bass in March 7 Bell Tribute], ''Business Wire'', March 5, 2013</ref> In 1993, she donated new church bells, which were placed in the east tower.<ref name="businesswire"/>
With her husband, she donated US$1 million to fifty different organizations in 1991, for their fiftieth anniversary.<ref name="alanpeppard"/><ref name="chrisvanhorne">Chris Van Horne, [http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Fort-Worth-Philanthropist-Dies-at-95-194392931.html Fort Worth Philanthropist Nancy Lee Bass Dies at 95], ''NBCFW'', March 1, 2013</ref> They also donated US$8 million to the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra.<ref name="wfaa"/> They also donated art to the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth.<ref name="kimbell">[https://www.kimbellart.org/exhibition/collection-nancy-lee-and-perry-r-bass Kimbell Art Museum: The Collection of Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass]</ref> The collection includes ''Street in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer'' and ''Enclosed Field with Plowman'' by Vincent van Gogh as well as ''Fruit Dish, Bottle, and Guitar'' by Pablo Picasso.<ref name="kimbell"/> It also includes paintings by Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Édouard Vuillard, Pierre Bonnard, Henri Matisse, Joan Miró, Fernand Léger, Marc Chagall and Mark Rothko as well as sculptures by Auguste Rodin, Aristide Maillol and Simon Segal.<ref name="kimbell"/>
She was the recipient of the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame Gloria Lupton Tennison Pioneer Award and the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Texas Ex-Students Association as well as the Golden Deeds Award from the Exchange Club of Fort Worth.<ref name="stevecampbell"/><ref name="chrisvanhorne"/>
==Personal life== She married Perry Richardson Bass at the First Methodist Church of Fort Worth in 1941.<ref name="alanpeppard"/><ref name="wfaa"/><ref name="suntimes">[http://www.suntimes.com/photos/galleries/18596043-417/nancy-lee-bass-95-matriarch-of-fort-worths-leading-philanthropists.html#.VF3l5RYhqSo Nancy Lee Bass, 95, matriarch of Fort Worth’s leading philanthropists ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141108121318/http://www.suntimes.com/photos/galleries/18596043-417/nancy-lee-bass-95-matriarch-of-fort-worths-leading-philanthropists.html#.VF3l5RYhqSo |date=2014-11-08 }}, ''Chicago Sun Times'', March 2, 2013</ref> They had met in a dance hall in Fort Worth.<ref name="alanpeppard"/> They had four sons: *Lee Bass.<ref name="wfaa"/> *Ed Bass.<ref name="wfaa"/> *Robert Bass.<ref name="wfaa"/> *Sid Bass.<ref name="wfaa"/>
Mrs. Bass also had ten grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.<ref name="dallasnews.com">{{Cite web|url=https://www.dallasnews.com/obituaries/obituaries/2013/03/01/obituary-nancy-lee-bass-fort-worth-matriarch-dies-at-95|title=Obituary: Nancy Lee Bass, Fort Worth matriarch, dies at 95|date=2013-03-01|website=Dallas News|language=en|access-date=2019-05-02}}</ref> Throughout her lifetime she was an active citizen to her hometown of Fort Worth, Texas. Governor Rick Perry described her communal services as, "touching the lives of many in Fort Worth, Texas and the country, yet preferring to stay humble rather than in the spotlight.<ref name="dallasnews.com"/>
She became a widow upon her spouse's death in 2006.<ref name="wfaa" />
==Death== She died on February 28, 2013, in Fort Worth, Texas.<ref name="wfaa"/> She was ninety-five years old.<ref name="wfaa"/> Her memorial service took place at the Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth on March 16, 2013, with musical performance by the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra.<ref name="startelegram"/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bass, Nancy Lee}} Category:1917 births Category:2013 deaths Category:Businesspeople from Fort Worth, Texas Category:University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts alumni Category:American art collectors Category:American women art collectors Category:Philanthropists from Texas Nancy Lee Category:American United Methodists