In death, Deacon John Bash ‘will continue his ministry of charity by praying for us all’

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Deacon John Bash died Sept. 6.

SALT LAKE CITY — The funeral Mass of Deacon John Bash was celebrated Sept. 20 at Saint Ambrose Catholic Church. Deacon Bash passed away Sept. 6 at the age of 90. Father Erik Richtsteig, pastor of Saint Ambrose Catholic Church celebrated the Mass; concelebrants were Father Langes Silva and Father Andrzej Skrzypiec. The Deacon of the Mass was Deacon Lynn Johnson.

In his homily Fr. Richtsteig recalled how he first met Deacon Bash before he himself became a Catholic, and was impressed by the way the older man served the Church.

“He was always doing something, and he never aged,” Fr. Richtsteig said.

Deacon Bash was one of the first people to welcome him to the parish, and he was very excited to serve with the deacon until he heard he had retired, said Fr. Richtsteig, who became pastor of St. Ambrose in 2019. “[But] he didn’t really retire, he retired from doing liturgical things because he couldn’t really walk or stand the way he used to. That didn’t mean that he retired from the diaconal ministry; he still took communion to those who were in need for many years.”

“I ask you to remember John, but I want you to remember him in a different way,” Fr. Richtsteig said. “I want you to step back a bit, not think so much about him, but think about his master. … Think about the person of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and see his hand at work in John’s life in all of those many phases: as a volunteer, as a deacon, as a father, as a husband, as a Christian believer. What you will see is God’s love for John, the fact that that love, as when it is given to us, it doesn’t just stay with us if we do it right, it courses through us into the world.”

“Weep for John, mourn for him, but see through those tears for that wonderful, joyful event [when he gets to see Our Lord face to face], which in faith we know lies in store for him,” he said. “I have trouble thinking about this diocese, I have trouble thinking about this parish without John in the front row … and in the flesh he will not be there anymore, but he will be there because he is not gone. In the Body of Christ he is still with us, and I am absolutely certain that John will continue his ministry of charity by praying for us all.”

Deacon Bash died Sept. 6, 2024 at Saint Joseph Villa in Salt Lake City in the company of his wife, Ileana. In the weeks prior to his death, he received the Eucharist almost daily; he also received the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick.

Deacon Bash was born July 9, 1934 to Bessie Gordon and Vincent Clarence Bash in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Before enlisting in the U.S. Army, he attended Regis College in Denver, Colorado for a year, then the University of Utah for another year. He received an honorable discharge from the Army in 1956.

In 1988 he married his wife, Ileana, in the Cathedral of the Madeleine. He was ordained a deacon on Jan. 24, 2004 and ministered at Saint Ambrose Parish in Salt Lake City from that date until his retirement.

Deacon Bash was predeceased by his parents and four of his six siblings. He is survived by his wife, Ileana; children from a prior marriage, Michael, Suzanne and Anthony; several grandchildren; his 95-year-old sister Jeanne and younger brother Richard; and numerous cousins.

Burial will be at Mount Calvary Catholic Cemetery at a later date.