William Bast

William H. Bast, 83, of Northridge, California died April 12, 2021. He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Karin A. Bast and children Michael Bast, Cathy Dean (Paul), and Kristine Weeks (Justin) and four grandchildren Dylan Dean, Kyle Dean, Asher Weeks, and Tyler Weeks as well as his sister Mary Doetzer (Jack). He was preceded in death by his parents William and Esther Bast. He is also survived by a dear friend, Brian Campion and his wife Mary Lou Campion.
William was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota and resided in St. Paul, Minnesota while growing up. He attended St. Mark’s elementary school and St. Thomas Military Academy for high school. He attended Holy Cross College in Wooster, Massachusetts for two years and then transferred to the University of Minnesota, where he received a degree in economics. He attended college on a full US Navy scholarship and spent his college summers in the Navy. After graduating from college, he served three years in the Navy as a Lieutenant. Most of that time he was the Engineering Officer on a destroyer. Following his Navy service, he attended the University of Minnesota law school where he was a member of the Law Review.
After graduating from law school in 1967, he took a position with the St. Paul law firm of Doherty, Rumble, and Butler. His area of interest was commercial law and mergers and acquisitions. In 1969 he accepted a job with the Trane Air Conditioning Company in La Crosse, Wisconsin as Assistant General Counsel and Secretary. He ended his 15 years at Trane Company as Vice President Administration. When Trane was acquired by American Standard, he left the company and formed Multistack with two former Trane executives Richard Campbell and Monte Holman.
William was an avid golfer and bridge player. He also was instrumental in the development of the hockey arena in La Crosse. He served on the Viterbo University (then college) board of directors for nearly 30 years. His favorite evenings were filled with family time, rich discussions, cribbage games, and chocolate chip cookie dough.
William and Karin retired to Carlsbad, California where they continued to play golf for many years. Two years ago they moved to the Village at Northridge in Los Angeles, California, a senior independent living facility. At that time, William was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Until the Covid 19 lockdown in Los Angeles, he participated in a National Research Institute study and at his death he donated his brain to UCLA’s brain research program.
A family memorial service with military honors will be held on May 10 at the Los Angeles National Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory to the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund (www.curealz.org) or any organization trying to find a cure for Alzheimer’s are appreciated.