Melanie Bassett died yesterday, Thursday, October 15, 2026, at her home in the College Hill neighborhood, Greensboro, North Carolina

Melanie was a Saint and a woman of the Tao all her life long. She was an artist, a teacher, a humanitarian, and the best person I have ever known.

Melanie could be invisible when she wanted to be, and she made the world right just by walking through it.

Everybody loved Melanie. How could they not? She was a joy to behold, and everything she did was well done. I hope she cussed, but I never heard her do so, and I am sure that Santa Claus gave her a ride each Christmas Eve in his sleigh, and she may have held the reins a time or two. I actually asked her about that, but she only smiled and said it was none of my business.

She was special in all the right ways—in all the irreplaceable ways, leaving a hole in her world and our lives. I am sorry for her loss. She gave “Human Being” the right kind of meaning and was “strong in the service of the Tao” all her life long. She will always be absent from our lives in ways that will require us to pause what we are doing and remain silent for a time of remembrance, gratitude and appreciation for her gift of being who she was for the true good of all who knew her and were blessed by her life for all of time.