Caroline Basore's Obituary
Caroline Margaret Hall Basore, 96, of Clayton, Missouri, died in her home after a fall on September 26, 2023.
Caroline was born in Prairie Grove, Arkansas July 13, 1927, the first child of Ada Kathrine (Kate) Blackburn Hall and William S. Hall Jr. (Bill or Judge Hall) of Stigler, OK. Growing up in this tiny community with her beloved siblings Billy and Mary Alice shaped her personality and attitudes of inclusivity, community, fairness, family, friendship, and stewardship of the earth. She maintained lifelong friends from her idyllic childhood.
Caroline graduated from Stigler High School and earned her BS in Advertising Design from Texas State College for Women (now Texas Woman's University) May 31, 1948. After morning commencement ceremonies, Caroline married Robert (Bob) Randolph Basore that afternoon in The Little Chapel in the Woods on the TSCW campus before returning to Oklahoma for their life
together. They lived in Muskogee, Tulsa, and Oklahoma City, with a brief job-related home in Louisville, KY. She joined her daughter and son-in-law in Missouri in 2011.
Caroline and Bob focused on raising children Brian Ray, Amy Irene, Barry William, and Margot Mildred, providing a home rich with art, music, literature, and corgis. Family vacations were often camping and canoe trips on rivers and lakes in OK, AR, and MN, or to visit the grandparents on Lake Fort Gibson and Oklahoma City. A second-generation Camp Fire girl, she dreamed up great beading, craft, and art activities for her daughters' groups and was proud that a grandson joined Camp Fire for the 4 th generation.
Caroline was an artist and writer who worked over 30 years in advertising agencies, started several businesses, and was a proud member of NAWBO. She was active in church, most recently Village United Methodist Church (OK), politics, investment club, and served as President of the Muskogee Art Guild. She painted until she could no longer hold a paint brush. She read voraciously, played Scrabble online with friends and family, and did the morning paper's puzzles and crosswords every day until the end. She was a creative cook and gourmand.
In recent years, she often announced "It's my night to cook," which meant ordering carryout. She relished her last meal of a double burger stuffed with cheddar topped with sweet spicy chile-bacon jam. She was famous for inventive salads.
A particular interest was genealogy of her family and her Cherokee heritage. She made sure her children got their Certificates of Degree of Indian Blood (Choctaw because of the Dawes Commission process) and were recorded as members of the First Families of the Cherokee. She descended from George Lowrey (A-gile), major in the War of 1812 and Assistant Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, and Lucy Benge Lowrey, half-sister of Sequoyah. Caroline's unpublished novel, Lydia's Story, tells the fascinating tale of these ancestors from the eyes of one of their daughters, Lydia Lowrey Hoyt.
Caroline cherished her role as grandmother of five and great GrandMimi of four.
Caroline was preceded in death by parents William S. Hall Jr and Kathrine Blackburn Hall, brother William S. Hall III, husband Robert R. Basore, and daughter Margot M. Basore Rick. She is survived by sister Mary Alice Young, children Brian R. Basore (Susan), Amy Basore Murphy (M. Keith), and Barry W. Basore (Patricia), grandchildren Brandon H. Murphy (Carolyn Keagy), Peter W. Murphy, Sarah C. Murphy, Ian A. Basore, Michael L. Basore, and great grandchildren Henry G. and Annemarie J. Murphy (Maine), and Ridley Q. and Vonn R. Keagy-Murphy (California).
To celebrate Caroline's life, love one another. To her that meant to vote every single time for democracy, to assure equal rights for women and the LGBTQ community, for reproductive rights, for social and racial justice, in support of mental health and healthcare for all, for sustainable stewardship of the earth, and for honoring the indigenous people on whose land we reside.
In lieu of flowers, consider supporting causes she did: the ACLU, public television, or the American Indian College Fund.
A celebration of life will be held at a later date.
Aquamation Services provided by Hughes Funeral Alternatives, LLC in St. Louis, Missouri.
Family and friends can sign a online guestbook at www.HughesFuneralAlternatives.com.
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