William “Bill” Curtis Bashore, Jr., 92,

William “Bill” Curtis Bashore, Jr., 92, of Solomons, MD and formerly of Bethesda, MD, passed away peacefully in his sleep on March 23, 2023. Born October 11, 1930 in Gettysburg, PA to William C. Bashore, Sr. and Indus (Oyler) Bashore, he grew up in Bethesda, MD and graduated from Landon, a private school for boys, in 1948. He attended Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA, graduated in 1952, and then returned to Bethesda to attend Georgetown University School of Dentistry in Washington, D.C., from which he graduated in 1956.

Bill then volunteered for service in the U.S. Air Force. Receiving his 1st Lieutenant bars, he served for two years, 1956-1958, at Spangdahlem Air Force Base near Trier, Germany. There, he met his wife-to-be, Susanne “Susi” Wollscheid, who was serving at nearby Bitburg Air Force Base as a translator, proficient in English, French, and German.

When his enlistment ended, Bill returned to the United States as Captain and, being the third dentist on the paternal side of his familial line, joined his father’s dental practice. Susi soon followed and they were married in 1959. Together they built their home with attached dental office facilities in Bethesda and began what became Bill’s private practice of thirty-nine years, with Susi serving as dental assistant for the first six until the children came. While there were occasional visits to Germany, the family primarily spent their summers either at their cottage in the Sherwood Forrest community on the Severn River, or at their beach condo in Ocean City, MD.

Bill was preceded in death by Susi, his beloved wife of almost fifty-one years. He is survived by two daughters and their families: daughter Belinda Steiner, son-in-law Patrick Steiner, grandson William Steiner, and daughter Melissa Christensen, son-in-law Troy Christensen, and grandchildren Zachary and Eva Christensen. He is also survived by his second wife Jerre S. Musser.

Bill was fond of chess, Cadillacs, and playing cards, especially bridge. These may or may not have been on his mind when he would say, “You can’t let books interfere with your education.” There was only one single bumper sticker that he ever put on one of his cars (not a Cadillac), and that bumper sticker said, “Ignore your teeth and they’ll go away.” When the stock market was up, and when the stock market was down, he would simply claim, “Well, money’s just a way of keeping score.” He was well-liked, perhaps even loved, by all who knew him. He was kind, generous, good-natured, and always prepared for witty repartee, both giving and taking with the warmest sense of enjoyment. Truly a gentleman, he will be sorely missed.