Marvolyn Bast, 87
Marvolyn Bast, age 87 of Nashua, died Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023, at her home.
Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, Feb. 17, 2023, at St. John Lutheran Church in Nashua with the Rev. Todd Burrichter officiating.
Friends can greet the family from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023, at Hugeback-Johnson Funeral Home & Crematory/Olson Chapel in Nashua. Visitation continues an hour prior to the service at the church on Friday.
Marvolyn was born on March 28, 1935, to Lester and Sadie (Sheffner) Chandler on a farm in rural Floyd, and she grew up with her four sisters and one brother in the Chickasaw area. She attended school in Ionia and graduated with the Class of 1953 at Ionia High School.
One of the Chandlers’ neighbors in the Chickasaw area was the Bast family, and Marvolyn and their son, Don, attended school together, began dating and fell in love. The two were married on Dec. 3, 1955, at the Ionia Congregational Church.
The family grew to include four children — Dennis, Daniel, David and Donna — who had a mother who always put them first. The Basts may not have been rich monetarily, but they were incredibly wealthy when it came to love from their mother.
Marvolyn and Don started farming west of Nashua in 1962, and 10 years later, they moved east of Nashua, where Don continued to farm until his retirement in 2004. He always had the best partner in Marvolyn, who helped milk cows, took care of the baby pigs and, along with the kids, tended the family big garden.
But the Bast children didn’t complain because Mom was always there for them, baking up treats, helping them with their school work, celebrating their accomplishments and comforting them when things didn’t go their way.
Marvolyn loved to go dancing with Don at the Riviera Ballroom in Janesville, and she was always up for a good card game with the neighbors. But her main focus was her family, including being the best grandma to her six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
She was a member of St. John Lutheran Church in Nashua for more than 60 years, and she had a deep and abiding faith.
Marvolyn lost Don in 2014, and although it was challenging at times, she persevered and continued to be there for her family and friends. They are all saddened by her loss, but they also know that today she is reunited with Don and two of her children in a far better place.
She is survived by her two sons, Daniel (Peggy) Bast of La Porte City, and David (Vicky) Bast of Nashua; six grandchildren, Shane (Jennifer) Bast, Ashly Bast, Brian Bast, Amanda (Adam) Hanson, Denise Bast and Dallas Bast; five great-grandchildren, Alex, Parker, Jacob, Kamdyn and Dylan; a daugher-in-law, Darcy Bast of Floyd; her sister, Phyllis Lipa of Elma; and a brother-in-law, Don Peterson of Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Marvolyn was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Donald in 2014; one son, Dennis Bast; one daughter, Donna Cavanaugh; and three sisters, Marion (Jim) Balsley, Scharlie (Eldred) Johnson and Leona Peterson; brother-in-law, Clarence Lipa.
