Alice Marie (Bast) Martin, 92, of Dubuque, passed peacefully in her sleep on Sunday, August 1, 2021. In celebration of Alice’s life, join her family for coffee and her famous cinnamon rolls from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Saturday, August 7, 2021, at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 1755 Delhi Street in Dubuque.  Memorial services will follow at 10:00 a.m.  Masks and social distancing will be required. The funeral service will be livestreamed on Holy Trinity Lutheran Church YouTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUxZuvDgEkvYIBkVgOt4Q8Q. The Egelhof, Siegert & Casper Funeral Home and Crematory is entrusted with arrangements. Condolences may be shared at www.egelhofsiegertcasper.com .

Alice Martin was born Alice Marie Bast on September 18, 1928, on a farm 2 miles west of Hudson, Iowa near Cedar Falls. Alice met her husband Ray Martin at Wartburg College in Waverly—they were married in May 1949 and remained devoted to each other and their family for 60 years until Ray’s passing in 2009. Their four children were all born in the 1950’s: Bill (Chris), Barb (Dan), Mary, and Tim (Cindy). Alice has 14 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren. She is survived by her sister Irene Paape and was preceded in death by her parents, Walter and Marie Bast, three older brothers: Ewald, Carl and Herman, and her brother-in-law, Edward Paape.

Alice and Ray were world travelers. They went to Canada for his internship, spent time in Waverly at Wartburg College, then Princeton NJ where Ray completed his PhD. In 1957 they, along with infant Mary and toddlers Bill and Barb, sailed to India as Lutheran missionaries at Gurukul Theological Seminary in Madras (now Chennai) for 11 years with a 1963-64 furlough at Harvard in Cambridge MA. Son Tim was born in Madras. In 1969 they returned to Dubuque where Ray was on the faculty of Wartburg Theological Seminary until retirement. Alice completed her Master’s degree at Clarke College and taught in Dubuque parochial and public schools. They were long standing, active members of Holy Trinity Lutheran church.

Ray and Alice both wrote autobiographies that detail the fascinating experiences and challenges they faced together over the years. It is impressive how Alice devoted herself to supporting Ray and the children in a variety of unfamiliar and challenging settings including the mission field, boarding school for the children at Kodai School 300 miles from Madras, and a return to India at remote Benagaria in 1985. There were many other US and international trips both for Ray’s work and their scattered children, including visits to Australia where Bill and Chris lived.

Alice loved life. She was known for her hospitality and winning smile. Her family is grateful to everyone at Luther Manor and Hospice of Dubuque for their loving care. Alice willed that her body be donated to the Carver College of Medicine at the University of Iowa.

In lieu of flowers, donations will be welcomed at Wartburg Theological Seminary, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church and/or Luther Manor, Dubuque, Iowa.