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News Archive - December 2010
Long-time Holstein member, Albert Baster, passes away
CAMP POINT, Ill. -- Albert H. Bastert, 89, of Camp Point, died at 5:30 a.m. Sunday (Dec. 19, 2010) at his home in Camp Point.
Born Feb. 26, 1921, in Camp Point, Albert was a son of Frank A. and Clara A. Peters Bastert. Albert was a graduate of Maplewood High School in Camp Point. He served his country in the U.S. Marine Corps as an engineering chief in a dive bomber squadron. Albert served in Hawaii, Midway Island, Samoa, New Hebrides and Guam before being discharged as a master technical sergeant.
After his return from service, Albert promised himself two things. He would play baseball and breed the best purebred livestock he possibly could. He was instrumental in the building of the Camp Point baseball diamond and played and managed the Camp Point Pointers baseball team who were well known in Western Illinois, Eastern Missouri, and Southern Iowa for 16 years. Along with his brother, Frank, Albert coached local Pony league teams for many years.
Mr. Bastert was an accomplished cattleman and truly loved the Holstein cow. He was a lifelong dairyman who bred and showed Holstein cows for 52 years. He received the Top Hoard's Dairyman Judge Award which received entries from every state in the United States and 10 other countries. He was a member of the Prairie Farms Board of Directors for 37 years, a charter member of the Adams County Dairy Association, and a member of the National Rifle Association, Adams County Farm Bureau, and the Camp Point V.F.W. Post 5410. He also loved hunting, pitching horse shoes, ping pong, fishing, and horse racing.
Survivors include a brother, John Bastert of Camp Point; two sisters, Elsie Walton of Grand Rapids, Mich., and Clarimae Ingles of Champaign; a sister-in-law, Millie Bastert of Camp Point; and several nieces, nephews, and cousins.
He was preceded in death by his parents; three brothers, Clarence, Raymond, and Frank Bastert; and three sisters, Florence Bastert, Frances Watkins, and Betty Parcells.
SERVICES: 10 a.m. Friday at the Assembly of God Church in Camp Point by Pastor Ron Garner. Burial with military honors by Camp Point V.F.W. Post 5410 will be at Evergreen Cemetery in Camp Point.
VISITATION: 5-8 p.m. Thursday at the Assembly of God Church in Camp Point.
MEMORIALS: Albert H. Bastert Memorial Fund for the purchase of trees to be planted at Bailey Park and Arrowhead Heights Golf Course.
ARRANGEMENTS: Lummis-Hamilton Funeral Home, Camp Point.
Condolences may be expressed at the www.whig.com.
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