Plessa Edward Mast

Plessa Edward Mast, 89, of Urbana, IL, died Friday February 19, 2016. Ed was born October 18, 1926 in Bourbon, Indiana to Plessa L and Vada Mae Mast. His father was a minister in the United Brethren Church and his mother received seminary training before becoming a pastor’s wife and homemaker for Ed and his three siblings, Jane, Mary Etta, and Paul. He joked that he was born in Bourbon, lived in Champaign, and was a teetotaler. He lived in Churubusco and Napanee, Indiana before moving to Peru, Indiana, where he met Phyllis Oury in 1937. They became close friends and in 1947 they began a 68 year marriage.

Ed graduated from Peru High School in 1944, started college at Purdue University the same year, and after being drafted he enlisted in the Navy as an Electronics Technician’s Mate in the fall of 1945 during World War II. His gift for teaching was soon recognized in the Navy and he taught courses for incoming electronic technicians. In 1946, after the war was over, he volunteered to serve on the USS Appalachian, a communications ship that was at the Bikini Atoll atomic bomb tests. His service in the Navy led to his interest in antennas and radar systems. He returned to complete his undergraduate and Master’s degrees in Electrical Engineering at Purdue University.

After a brief stint as an engineer for Firestone Tire and Rubber Company in Akron, Ohio, Ed came to the University of Illinois in 1952, starting a continuous association with the U of I by Ed, his children, and his grandchildren that has lasted for 64 years to date. He received a PhD in Electrical Engineering in 1958 and he remained at the U of I for his entire career as a Professor of Electrical Engineering, becoming Associate Head of the Electrical Engineering Department in 1985 before retiring in 1987. The main focus of his research was on antennas, wave propagation, and electromagnetic field theory. Teaching students was his passion and was always a high priority. His children still meet his former students, who say how much they enjoyed his classes. In addition to his work at the U of I he worked many summers for aerospace companies in Southern California, where he designed antennas for spacecraft and missiles, with a particular focus on electromagnetic propagation of radiofrequency signals during spacecraft reentry.

Ed’s children and grandchildren also benefitted from his patient teaching. Simple things he taught were to always start a new problem on a clean sheet of paper, and if you don’t apply for a scholarship you have a 100% chance of not getting it. They also benefitted from his many stories, sense of humor and generosity. The grandchildren remember and enjoyed games, model train sets, and Grandpa Ed’s hot chocolate with whipped cream.

Ed was an Eagle Scout and all six of his sons and seven of his grandsons are Eagle Scouts. When he gave a presentation at the Eagle Scout ceremony for his grandchildren, he remembered his experience getting a camping merit badge when he rode his bicycle to the woods, and stayed alone overnight with a gun for protection from animals. He built a car for the Great American Soapbox Derby in 1937 and his love for cars continued throughout his life. He learned to fix all the cars he owned through the years and he was a longstanding member of Illini Collector Car Club. He was proud of his Amish-Mennonite heritage, and did extensive genealogy research, including tracing the immigration of his fourth great grandfather Jacob Mast from Switzerland to Pennsylvania on the Charming Nancy in 1737 and identifying his eighth great grandfather Benedict Mast who was born in Guggisberg, Canton Bern, Switzerland in about 1570.

Ed is survived by his wife Phyllis of Urbana, his seven children, Philip (Katy) of Palo Alto, CA, Kim (Cindy) of Loveland, Colorado, Eric (Jill) of Atlanta, Georgia, Dan (Laura) of Urbana, Anne (John) of Edwardsville, Alan (Lynne) of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, and Jeffery (Kristin) of Loveland, Colorado, 22 grandchildren, 4 great-grandchildren, his brother Paul Mast of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and many extended family and cherished friends. He is predeceased by his parents and his sisters.

There will be a gathering of family on Thursday at the Mast Homestead, 1105 Martz St, Syracuse, Indiana, which was built by Ed, his father and his brother in the mid-1940s using lumber from Ed’s grandfather Levi’s house south of Bremen, Indiana. At noon on Thursday, Phyllis and her children will be available to meet with family and friends at the Oakwood Park Chapel on Lake Wawasee. A funeral service will be at 1:30 PM at the Program Center (former United Methodist Church) at Oakwood Park. A service of Christian burial with military honors will be at 3:30 PM Thursday at Bremen Cemetery, 100 E 2nd St, Bremen, Indiana 46506. A memorial service will be held in Urbana at a later date.

Memorial contributions may be made to the First Presbyterian Church of Urbana or to the Clark-Lindsey Legacy Fund c/o Renner-Wikoff Chapel, 1900 S Philo Road, Urbana IL 61802.