William Joseph Gast

William Joseph Gast of Topeka, Kansas passed away on August 4th, 2022. Bill grew up on the family farm in Paola, Kansas, the son of Florent and Roberta Gast. Bill's idyllic childhood shaped his life-long love for community, raising cattle and farm life. He graduated from Paola High School in 1961, where he was known for his pink and white '56 Crown Victoria and as the unofficial class historian. Bill then attended St. Mary of the Plains and the University of Kansas, where he was a walk-on member of the KU football team. Bill spent his career with General Motors in Kansas City, where he worked for 54 years, leaving only to serve with his Paola Army National Guard unit during the Vietnam War. Bill had a well-earned reputation for his tremendous work ethic and positive relationships with those he worked with as a Team Leader at Fairfax. Bill never met a stranger and was well-known for his humor, family stories and infectious optimism. He had many life-long friends and wonderful memories of their times spent together. Bill found great joy in genealogy, history, geography, traveling, and photography, serving as the family historian for his Gast and Stark relatives. His incredible memory for names, places and events generated interesting and enjoyable conversations. Left to cherish Bill's memory are his wife Donna Whiteman, his son David Stark Gast, his sister Mary Beth Ruthenbeck and brother James Gast, and numerous nieces and nephews. Bill was preceded in death by his parents Florent and Roberta (Stark) Gast, his brother Robert D. Gast, and infant twins. Visitation hours will be 4:00 - 6:00 pm August 19th at Dengel & Son Funeral Home in Paola and the church service will occur at 10:00 am August 20th at Paola Holy Trinity Catholic Church. Memorial contributions may be made to Paola Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Most Pure Heart of Mary, Topeka, and the Kansas Oral History Project Inc., Topeka. To leave a special memory or to leave condolences to the family of Bill please go to share memory tab.