Martha Bassett Vail's Obituary
Martha Bassett Vail, born May 1, 1934 in Peoria, Illinois and passed away April 7, 2017 in Plano, TX. Preceded in death by her beloved sons, Walter Pell Vail II and William Bassett Vail, and her beloved brother John Robb Bassett. Survived by her beloved brother William Wood Bassett II and sister-in-law Janelle Bassett, and her beloved sister Ann Bassett; her children Mary Ann Burns, Julie and son-in-law Mike Burcham, Melanie and son-in-law Steve Hester, and son Richard and daughter-in-law Jan Vail; and her beloved grandchildren Maggie Burns, Patrick Burns, Sarah Vail Jennings, Katie Vail, Allison Vail Pizzuti, Elizabeth Vail, Zachary Burcham and Abby Hester. Martha raised six children plus lots of neighborhood children who were always at the Vail house. Many neighborhood kids said that they considered her their second mom. After raising her children, Martha embarked on a second career in banking, working for Metropolitan Savings and Loan in Dallas. When she retired from banking, she became a house mother at SMU, at the Delta Gamma sorority. She spent 14 years there and loved being on campus and running the sorority house, ensuring that all the girls had a home away from home. Martha loved to travel. She visited Machu Picchu, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Canada and Mexico, and she went to China twice. She also travelled widely in the US, including visiting her brother Bill and sister-in-law Janelle, and sister Ann in California. She especially loved California, and she spent a summer house-sitting for a sorority house mother at UC Berkeley. She also enjoyed visiting her grandchildren, Maggie and Patrick, in New York City. She loved to visit her daughter Julie, son-in-law Mike and grandson Zach for months at a time in Boston, and loved to follow her son Richard and daughter-in-law Jan’s travels and adventures on Facebook. Martha was very creative. She loved to collect art and also loved to draw and paint. She was an accomplished seamstress and loved to teach others to sew and crochet. Martha passed on this love of the arts to her children and grandchildren, and she leaves musicians, filmmakers, designers, writers and artists as her legacy. After she left SMU, Martha moved to a beautiful condo on Turtle Creek. She loved her uptown neighborhood and lifestyle. In 2012, she moved to Plano, where she was so happy to be near her granddaughter Abby and her daughters Mary Ann and Melanie, and son-in-law Steve. She made many new friends at her new home, and was known for her gentle spirit and helpful nature. Martha will be dearly missed by all. A memorial service will be held on April 15, 2017, at 3:00 PM at Restland Funeral Home, Abbey Chapel.
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