Vera Jean Gast

Vera “Jean” Gast, 94, of St. Joseph, MI passed away Tuesday, February 16, 2016 at Woodland Terrace in Bridgman. A Celebration of Life for sharing will be held 2 P.M. to 4 P.M. Sunday, February 21, 2016 at The Box Factory, 1101 Broad Street, St. Joseph. Friends may also visit from 1 P.M.to 2 P.M. Sunday preceding the Celebration, or the day before from 1 P.M. to 3 P.M. Saturday, February 20, 2016 at the funeral home, Starks & Menchinger Chapel and Cremation Services, 2650 Niles Rd., St. Joseph. Private burial will be held at Riverview Cemetery in St. Joseph, MI.   In lieu of flowers, those wishing to make a donation in memory of Jean may do so to The Box Factory for the Arts or to the charity of your choice. Those wishing to share a memory of Jean online may do so at www.starks-menchinger.com. Vera “Jean” was born March 16, 1921 in Danville, IL to Elbert Marion and Emma Mae (Tibbs) Warren. She graduated from Decatur High School in IL and started an Arts degree at Millikin University in Decatur, IL.  For a summer job, she followed one of her classmates to work as a waitress at the Whitcomb Hotel in St. Joseph.  Through friends she met the son of a local farmer – Harry Gast, Jr. They were married in Springfield, IL on June 6th, 1943. Jean was a ‘city girl’ so the move to farm life came with a steep learning curve – what grew on a bush, tree, vine etc., but she was quick to catch on. Harry and Jean moved to the family farm in 1952 to take over the operation. Once Harry became a State Representative, Jean was the glue that kept the house and family running smoothly.  In order to contribute, she moved her major from Art to Elementary Education, graduating from Western Michigan University.  Teaching and going to school at Western during the summers kept her on the run, especially as she was also working on the farm and starting her family. Jean taught for many years in both St. Joseph and Lakeshore Schools – before and after consolidation.  She was dedicated to her family – both those at home and at school.  Seeing children develop an interest in learning (and painting) was a real joy for her.  She was fascinated to watch her children and grandchildren’s personalities develop as they grew into unique adults. After retiring from teaching at Baroda Elementary in 1981, she continued to keep in touch with the other teachers (“Baroda Bunch”) at lunch gatherings.  She wanted to stay involved in the community, so she joined the board of the Benton Harbor Safe Shelter, protecting domestic violence survivors.  She also took shifts at the Second Time Around thrift store that helped fund their programs. Art never was completely on the back burner, though; through the years she painted signs for Harry’s campaigns, signs for son Denny’s Fruit Stand, and horse signs for Barb’s horse club to use at the county fair. She painted in several media with a special love of watercolor. Jean encouraged others to make art – to stay loose, to see all the colors, to enjoy form and texture and shadows and space. She was on the board of the Krasl Art Center, a member of the Berrien County Art Guild and of the original board for the Box Factory for the Arts.  She and the board spent many hours trying to figure out how they were going to transform the Box into their vision and where the money would come from.  She traveled to Italy, Mexico, China, England, the Rhine and more– all with a sketch book and easel. A special thanks to the folks at Hospice at Home (especially Kunga, Patti, Marjie and Laura) and the staff at Woodland Terrace for their care and to Tom Gast for helping her with all things, especially doing as much as she could and keeping her mind sharp – after reading Scientific American, she wanted to know more about String Theory! Jean is survived by daughters, Barbara Curtis of Wheeler, MI and Linda Gast of South Beach OR; son, Dennis (Friedericke) Gast of Chassell, MI and sister Betty Jane (Marshall) Pollock of Decatur, IL.  She will be missed by her grandchildren, Chris (Jen), Kelly, Nick, Tom, Becca, Skip, Jenna, and Lilli Gast, and Lisa (Matt) Wolf. She is survived by her step grandchild Jaime (Rob) Byrd and their children Cameron and Sloane.   Jean was preceded in death by her parents; husband Sen. Harry; her brother Beryl Warren; her sister Doris Kohr and son-in-law Bill Curtis.