On July 15, 2024, we lost our beloved friend and colleague, Tammy Bassrey. She was an important part of Penny Lane for 25 years. Tammy was one of the first individuals to work in the Antelope Valley location and always reminded us of our roots in the community. She embodied the values, heart and dedication that define us at Penny Lane Centers.
Tammy was a Clinical Supervisor who got joy from helping others learn their craft, grow professionally and develop their clinical skills. Despite having a lot on her plate as a supervisor, she always had a few clients and never lost her love for providing therapy.
Tammy was incredibly insightful about life, tender, sensitive, empathetic and cared deeply about people in our community and in the world. Her core gift was ~
“Helping others to get in touch with the big picture, have a new perspective and feel more alive. She gives it by helping them to have the courage to take chances, have happy connections with others and expand their vision to create the life they want." -Tammy Bassrey's Core Gift
Tammy used her gift every day to help people embrace and create the lives they wanted. She dedicated her life to public service and made an outstanding difference in the world.
Tammy was also a mom to beautiful, Bella. Everyone knew that Bella was Tammy’s world. When you walked into her office, you couldn’t miss the big black-and-white photo of Bella on the wall (see photo below). And, if you had a minute to chat, Tammy would share about their adventures and upcoming plans. She was an amazing mom who cherished the gift of motherhood, adored her daughter and loved her deeply.
If you knew Tammy, you also knew she was a traveler. In fact, she inspired many of us to take the trip we’ve always talked about. And, from her, we learned that one of the purposes of travel, whether across the country, or through life, is to relish the life you have been given and find the beauty wherever you are. Tammy thoroughly enjoyed experiencing and learning about different cultures, exotic foods, and loved meeting people from all walks of life. Her passion for traveling started with her father who used to take Tammy and her sister on road trips across the country. As she got older, she would dream of the places she wanted to visit and plan her trips out with so much excitement. Tammy wanted to experience all that life has to offer and relentlessly pursued this.
Tammy was always, in the words of one colleague, “interesting, and interested.” She was always doing something you wanted to hear about. But she was more interested in hearing what you were doing. One of Tammy’s last emails informing staff that she would be on vacation said, “enjoy some summer fun.” When she was supervisor on duty, she would frequently include photos from trips she had taken. This is a photo (see below) she included last month of her trip to Lake Tahoe with Bella.
Tammy added pizzazz to our work events and beautified everything she touched. She was always the one to spearhead staff retreats, decorate for our parties and we always consulted her on office décor choices. Tammy had amazing taste and was very talented with interior design. Additionally, she was the president of our supervisory “sunshine club” and picked out the most gorgeous cakes for each of the supervisors on their birthdays – even if it required driving to multiple stores to find the perfect one.
Tammy cared tremendously about serious things such as racial justice, politics and community issues. However, she also enjoyed reality TV to decompress, and we would oftentimes compare notes on who we thought the latest Bachelor or Bachelorette should choose. I will miss these lighthearted conversations.
Tammy’s adventures have surely not ended, as she is on her greatest journey yet. Tammy will never be forgotten. We will forever love her and cherish our memories. For those that knew Tammy well, I am grieving the loss of our beloved with you. And, for those that didn’t know her, I hope this article provides a glimpse into who this amazing individual was, and that you feel encouraged to create and live the life you want. Tammy would want us all to follow the joy and so I am leaning into the joy because of her and inviting you to do the same.
Tammy’s Penny Lane family set a goal to raise $10,000. Tammy spent her entire career caring for others and now needs our help to ensure her daughter is cared for during this unimaginably difficult time. We encourage you to offer support in any way you can- any amount will be appreciated!
We always say that we love hard in the AV and it makes our recent losses almost impossible to survive, but as one of Tammy’s quotes in her office says, “when the hour is at its darkest just focus on the next step and the light within will guide you.” My team and I are going to continue focusing on the next step until we can run again. -Jennifer Lane, Penny Lane Centers
Check out some more photos of Tammy below!
