Kenneth Poe Funeral Services

July 22, 2026

Delois Hamrick Bass was born to Charles A. and Ella Maud Hamrick in Caroleen, NC, on February 21, 1934. Delois attended Caroleen Baptist Church with her family including brothers Dwight and Charles and sister Sarah. Delois graduated from Tri-High School. While in high school she participated in Caroleen church’s Girl Quintet, which traveled to various other churches throughout the area. They performed at Allen Street Baptist Church in Charlotte for a Valentine’s Day banquet where Marvin Bass heard them.

Delois attended Gardner-Webb College when it was a two-year institution and graduated from Carson-Newman College in 1956. She soon became a church secretary in Florida and met missionaries from Hawaii. She moved to Hawaii before it was a state and lived there for 11 months working as a secretary for the missionaries. She earned a Master of Arts from Carver School of Missions and Social Work in Louisville, KY, in 1960. She also worked in Raleigh where she was the director of the statewide Sunbeams. While living in Raleigh she ran into Marvin D, Bass of Charlotte. They had met at Carson-Newman and later realized they had both been at the Valentine’s banquet.

On October 27, 1962, her mother’s birthday, Delois married Marvin in Caroleen. They moved to Macon,GA, where their daughter Emory was born on November 12,1963. Delois was featured in a newspaper article about new mothers.

The family lived in Columbia, SC, and in Wake Forest, Louisburg, and Fayetteville, NC, before settling in Charlotte in 1970 just before Emory started first grade.  Delois worked as a church secretary at Midwood Baptist Church.

In 1973 they moved to Greensboro, NC, where Delois did not work for most of Emory’s school years. She was an excellent cook and spent much of her time in the kitchen. The Basses were members of First Baptist Church of Greensboro where Delois was in the choir and taught first graders for many years.

The family enjoyed numerous vacations and Delois was always ready with her beige bag full of maps and brochures. There were many driving trips such as to Ohio and Kentucky as well as to Florida. They often went to the beach as well. Delois and Emory took a cruise to the Bahamas as well; Marvin chose not to go.

As Emory was nearing college age, Delois decided to go back to work. She worked for many years as a secretary for the Scottish Rite in Greensboro. She enjoyed these years very much.

Marvin and Delois retired at the same time and enjoyed several trips afterwards. They went to Europe, Hawaii, and the Holy Land. They also spent 6 weeks in China teaching English to teachers as well as sightseeing. The teachers/students presented Delois with an authentic custom-made Chinese dress as a gift. Delois got to walk on the Great Wall.

Marvin and Delois moved to Huntersville in 2003 since they wanted to be closer to family. They attended First Baptist Church of Charlotte, Lake Norman Baptist Church, and First Baptist Church of Huntersville. Emory joined them in Huntersville in 2005.

Marvin passed away in 2016, and Delois and Emory remained in the home until Delois had to move to a memory care facility. Most recently Delois had resided at Cabarras Health and Rehabilitation Center in Concord.

Memorials may be made to the Building Fund of First Baptist Church of Huntersville, P. O. Box 3052, Huntersville, NC 28070.

The Memorial Service will be held at 2:00 PM on Wednesday, July 29, 2026 at First Baptist Church, 14813 North Old Statesville Road, Huntersville, NC 28078. There will be a visitation beginning at 1:00 PM.

Arrangements are in the care of Kenneth W. Poe Funeral & Cremation Service, 1321 Berkeley Ave., Charlotte, NC 28204; (704) 641-7606. Online condolences may be shared at www.kennethpoeservices.com.