William "Rick" Ast III

William Frederick "Rick" Ast III, of St. Joseph, darling husband, splendid Da, adored brother, dear uncle, and friend to cousins, died of a heart attack on Sunday evening, Sept. 8.

Rick graduated from Lakeshore High School, Class of '64, and received his bachelor's degree in journalism and master's degree in education from Michigan State University. He served as an interrogator/interpreter for the U.S. Army Psychological Operations during the Vietnam War, and also taught English to Vietnamese students.

After working in the early 1970s as a postal carrier and officer in NALC Branch 653 St. Joseph, Rick wrote for The Herald-Palladium for the next 37 years, as a journalist and later also as a columnist. His weekly columns were very popular, touching on a variety of local topics; especially important to him was education and veterans' issues. He also taught journalism classes at Lake Michigan College.

Having played football in high school, Rick always said he was an avid fan of three collegiate football teams: MSU (Go green! Go white!), any team that beat the University of Michigan, and any team that beat Notre Dame. He and his family often swam, bicycled, canoed, cross-country skied and played tennis together. After retirement, Rick returned to team sport, playing vintage base ball with the House of David Echoes for 23 years; fondly called "the last jock standing," he played three games last year.

Rick enjoyed traveling with his family in the U.S. and Europe. He appreciated the performing arts, and frequently attended various local productions. He loved the opera, and saw many in Chicago and New York, including the Zeffirelli production of "La Boheme."

Rick served the community as a board member for the Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra, the Berrien County Historical Association/History Center in Courthouse Square, and as board secretary of the Maud Preston Palenske Memorial Library. He was preparing to present his journalistic perspective on recent local history at the Historical Society of Michigan's annual meeting later this month. He was a Freemason and a member of American Legion Stevensville Post 568.

Rick was a voracious reader throughout life, enjoying everything from science fiction and fantasy to poetry and history. He also loved Lake Michigan, going to the beach to swim, read, relax or watch the sunset; traveling to Leelanau Peninsula; maintaining his family farm and barn in Lincoln Township; and eating local produce, especially fruit. Rick made friends easily and kept them long, and his barn parties were locally (in)famous.

Rick is survived by his wife, Nancy Margarett; a daughter, Dr. Jennifer Ast and a son-in-law Dr. Joseph Scott, both of Uppsala, Sweden; a sister, Judith (Jan) Brunvand of Salt Lake City; brothers-in-law Ron Nielsen of Stevensville, Lyle Ray of Gainesville, Gail Ray of Hartford, and Ames Ray; and many nieces, nephews and cousins.

He was preceded in death by his parents, William F. "Bill" Ast Jr. and Mildred Pearl Ast of Lincoln Township, and his sisters, Viola "Pyzi" Nielsen of Stevensville and Janet M. Ast of St. Joseph.

Visitation with Rick's family will take place at 1 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 20 with the memorial service at 2 p.m. at Starks & Menchinger Family Funeral Home at 2650 Niles Road, St. Joseph.

In keeping with Rick's values, he decided to donate tissue which will touch the lives of many.

In lieu of flowers, a memorial may be made to the charity of your choice. Those wishing to share condolences online may do so at www.starksfamilyfh.com.