Lawrence Gast

Lawrence L. Gast, 76, Ottawa, died Wednesday, April 1, 2009. A funeral mass will be 10 a.m. Monday at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Ottawa. He was born Tuesday, March 7, 1933, at Conception, Mo., to Albert V. and Margaret (Meyer) Gast. He was a resident of Franklin County since 1962, moving from Waverly. He moved from Missouri to Waverly in 1951. He attended St. Mary’s Catholic School, Maryville, Mo. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War from May 1953 to April 1955. He was a member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Ottawa; Knights of Columbus Council No. 3018; and a 40-year member of Local No. 101 of International Union of Operating Engineers, Kansas City, Mo. He worked as a heavy equipment operator in commercial building construction and highway and road construction. He worked in Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Iowa for 38 years, until 1998, for Koss Construction Co., Topeka, Clarkson, Kansas City, Mo.; and Harmon, Topeka. He retired in 2001. He married Mary Dawson Feb. 17, 1962, at Ottawa. She survives. Survivors also include sons, Mark A. Gast, Kansas City, Mo., Brian Gast, Fulsom, Calif., and Daniel Gast, and his wife, Michelle, Pomona; a daughter, LaVon (Gast) Cates, and her husband, Bryon, Pomona; brothers, Marvin Gast, and his wife, Mabel, Emporia, Ronald Gast, and his wife, Marilyn, Scranton, Robert Gast, and his wife, Mary, Olathe, and Terry Gast, Olathe, sisters, Marilyn Ullery, Topeka, and LouAnn Korbe, and her husband, Harold, Topeka; six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by a son, Lawrence Gast Jr.; and a daughter, Laura Gast. Burial will be at Mt. Calvary Cemetery, Ottawa, with military honors by Ft. Riley Honor Guard. Friends may pay their respects from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday at Dengel & Son Mortuary, Ottawa. Family will meet with friends at 5:30 p.m. Sunday after a Rosary is said at 5 p.m. Memorial contributions may be sent to Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Midland Hospice or Franklin County Cancer Foundation in care of Dengel & Son Mortuary, 235 S. Hickory St., Ottawa KS 66067.