Clifford Alvin Bast

Clifford Alvin Bast, age 91 of Nashua, Iowa died Monday June 22, 2020, at the Chautauqua Guest Home in Charles City.

A graveside service will be held 11:00 a.m. Saturday, June 27, 2020 at the Oak Hill Cemetery, Nashua with Rev. Anjeanette Perkins presiding.

Friends may greet the family 9-10:45 a.m. Saturday, June 27 at the Hugeback Johnson Funeral Home and Crematory – Olson Chapel in Nashua. Online condolences for Clifford’s family may be left at hugebackfuneralhome.com

Clifford Bast was born on Dec. 3, 1928, to Earl and Edna (Posekany) Bast near Chickasaw. He was one of five children – four boys and one girl, and he grew up on farms in both Chickasaw and Bremer counties.

Cliff attended country schools and then transferred to Janesville High School, graduating with the Class of 1945, and it was in school that he met Sally Johnson. He was smitten almost from the beginning.

He served in the National Guard, worked at Oliver Tractor in Charles City and held a number of other jobs before he and Sally said their “I do’s” on June 10, 1950, beginning a marriage that lasted more than 60 years and produced five children — Cathy, Craig, Richard, Ronald and Jeanine. His children remember growing up with a dad who set excellent examples when it came to work ethic and the importance of family.

Cliff worked as a bricklayer with his brother-in-law, but he found his true calling when he returned to his roots and became a dairy farmer. He loved his Jerseys and Holsteins, but Saturday nights were reserved for Sally and him to go on the “dance circuit.” They loved traveling to local ballrooms to dance the night away.

In 1982, Cliff and Sally purchased The Chalet, a supper club in Fairbank, and they ran the facility for several years. After “retiring” from the farm, he worked for DeCal Specialties and in Minnesota with his daughter for a year or two.

Family meant everything to Cliff, and his grandchildren will tell you that Grandpa was always early, never late and gave 110 percent to anything he did. And they loved his stories; even if they were “repeats,” he had a way of making every tale he told special.

He and Sally loved going to their grandchildren’s events, and they traveled a bit to Colorado and California to see their grandkids, and although Cliff wasn’t a huge sports fans, he did root for the Iowa Hawkeyes.

His beloved Sally passed away in 2011, and it was hard on Cliff to lose his longtime dance partner. Yet, he persevered and lived independently until this past March. He cooked, cleaned and did everything for himself, and he enjoyed making his “rounds” — visiting the Post Office each day and he was a regular at Kwik Star and the dollar store.

Cliff was in remarkably good health until this past March when he suffered a stroke, and while his family will dearly miss him and his stories, they are grateful that he leaves a legacy of hard work to those of us who remain and that he is now reunited with the love of his life in Heaven.

Cliff is survived by two sons, Craig Bast of Johnstown, CO, Ron Bast of Fredericksburg, IA; two daughters, Cathy Rain of Preston, MN, Jeanine (Bill) Hodge of Hampton, IA; 13 grandchildren; 24 great-grandchildren; 3 great-great-grandchildren; one sister-in-law Marv Bast of Nashua, IA; many nieces, nephews and special friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Sally Bast in 2011; one son, Richard Bast in 2012; one sister, Verna Bast; three brothers, Calvin Bast, James Bast, Donald Bast.