William "Bill" Cecil Bass

William “Bill” Cecil Bass, 81, died quietly and peacefully surrounded by loved ones on June 24, 2026.

He was the son of the late Cecil and Louise Bass of Opelika, AL, where he was born and raised. He was in ROTC, and was an accomplished sharp shooter. He graduated from Auburn University with a degree in Economics. After graduation, he was a proud Air Force Officer and was responsible for air traffic controllers in Vietnam during the war, where he earned a Bronze Star for valor. After serving five years in the Air Force, Bill and his young family moved to Asheville in 1972, where he spent the next 54 years building his real estate and general contractor businesses and serving the community.

The local real estate community knew him from his service as a two-time President of the Asheville Board of Realtors, and as the President of the North Carolina Association of Realtors in 2002. Bill served in leadership roles for decades within the NC Association of Realtors, including developing the Leadership Academy, which was later named for him as the William C. Bass Leadership Academy. Bill and his business partner, Steve Royster, built Bass and Royster Builders, a general contractor company. They built many homes and remodeled numerous historical houses throughout the area for over 25 years, winning the company Griffin Awards for historical restoration. In addition, Bill enjoyed teaching continuing education classes for many years for the NC Association of Realtors.

Bill served as President of the Rotary Club of Asheville and enjoyed serving his community, including the food packaging program, Rotarians for Hunger, which he led for many years. He also found tremendous meaning with his involvement in the Blue Ridge Honor Flight program, which takes veterans to visit the war memorials in Washington, DC. Bill served as an organizer and escort for numerous Blue Ridge Honor Flights.

Sailing, racquetball/pickleball, and weekends at his floating lake house on Fontana Lake were favorite pastimes. Bill also loved traveling – including traveling internationally, sailing in the Caribbean, driving cross country with Janet in their RV, and spending time with friends in Florida. Above all else, he loved spending time with his wife Janet, daughter Wendy (Jeff), son Scott (Jen), and grandchildren Tyler Bass, Caroline Bass, Chase Holub, and Emma Holub.

Memorial arrangements are pending. Any donations in his memory are appreciated to either an organization of your choice, or to Manna Food Bank, where Bill happily spent over 2000 hours delivering food to those in need in our area.

Groce Funeral Home’s Lake Julian team is assisting the family.