Abraham (Avi) Zisha Bass

Born: August 22, 1940, Cleveland

Died: December 9, 2018, DeKalb.

Avi Bass, a long-time Northern Illinois University journalism professor, died December 9 at Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital after a short illness.

Avi liked to joke that he could not be an astronaut for two reasons. First, he frequently got airsick as a child; second, it would be hard to decide on where to have a hometown parade, since he grew up in three cities: Cleveland, New York, and Milwaukee.

He decided he wanted to be a journalist after he had a piece published in his elementary school newspaper. Later, he realized that he was more interested in journalism as an institution and majored in sociology as an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. But he did work through the ranks to become an editor of its student newspaper.

Avi was thrilled when he was accepted into the master's program in journalism at Columbia University, the premier program in the country. He then earned a Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota, with an emphasis in international communications.

Then, in 1969, Avi took a position in the growing journalism department at NIU, teaching mass media and society, international communications, and the introductory writing courses.

He was proud that several of his NIU students went on to earn Pulitzer prizes.

A UNESCO fellowship in 1971 to attend a six-week institute in then Yugoslavia with professors and working journalists from around the world had a major impact on Avi's teaching.

When computers, and then the internet, became available, Avi was excited about integrating them into his classes. First for his students, and then for everyone, he maintained the web site NewsPlace for News and Sources for many years.

In the 1990s he created one of the earliest political web sites on presidential races, revising it every four years. The site got major national recognition and in 2000 won a national Web, White & Blue award.

Avi also served as the executive director of the Illinois Community College Journalism Association for 27 years.

Avi was a devoted member of Congregation Beth Shalom in DeKalb. He drew on his belief that "if I am for myself alone, who am I" and his strong Jewish education. Over the years, he taught in the congregation's religious school, led services at the High Holy Days and other times, founded and chaired the congregation's Funeral Committee, served on the board, and lent a hand when needed, whether helping pack Thanksgiving baskets two weeks before his death or cleaning up after events.

For many years, Avi was the advisor for Hillel, the Jewish student organization at NIU. For more than a decade, he served as the moderator of the Jewish Faculty Roundtable, an international, online discussion group. Since his retirement in 1999, Avi was involved with the NIU Lifelong Learning Institute and the Thursday Lunch Group of retired professors.

Avi was a lifelong subscriber to Mad magazine, from its first issue in the 1950s well into the twenty-first century, reflecting his own silly sense of humor.  He was also a member of the ACLU since his undergraduate days.

During his senior year at the University of Wisconsin, Avi met fellow student Elizabeth Elving. They celebrated 55 years of marriage this past August. They spent the summer after their marriage traveling in Europe and Israel and continued to travel visiting most states and 50 countries, some repeatedly.

Another important part of their life was their annual reunions with friends at the Midwest Associates in Higher Education gatherings.

As well as his wife, Avi is survived by the joys of his life: his sons, Joshua Bass (Katie Sinback) of Portland, OR, and Daniel Bass (Anna Lawrence) of Fairfield, CT, and most especially his grandchildren, Emma Bella Bass-Lawrence, Jonah Bass-Lawrence, and Rosie Bass-Sinback.

He also leaves a sister, Rebecca Kaiser (Jon Kaiser) of Madison, WI, and nephews and nieces and their children.

The funeral will be on Wednesday, December 12, at 1:30 p.m. at the Finch Funeral Home in DeKalb, with burial following at the Garden of Shalom at Fairview Park Cemetery. Services will be led by Rabbi Maralee Gordon.

Friends may call at the Bass home from 7 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday, December 12 and 13. A short service will be held at 7:30 p.m. both nights. Street parking will be permitted, with overflow parking at Ellwood House.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Reporters without Borders (donate.rsf.org) or to VAC-The Voluntary Action Center (vacdk.com). Or buy a subscription to a newspaper. Avi would like that.