Roland “Rollie” Bast, who started the company now known as GO Riteway Transportation Group in Wisconsin with wife Pearl in the late 1950s, passed away on Feb. 8. He was 91.
The company thanked followers on its Facebook page for their thoughts and prayers.
“His connections run deep in the community, and we thank you all for your kindness and support,” the statement read.
A life-long farmer and horse enthusiast, Rollie Bast founded the Riteway Bus company in 1957, and the company is currently celebrating its 55th year. He also was a 4-H leader, a member of the Germantown, Wisc., Rotary Club for 40 years, and he received the organization’s Paul Harris Fellow award in 1990 for his monetary contributions to the organization’s annual programs fund.
Bast was a volunteer for the Germantown Fire Department from 1948-1988 and also served on several area boards of directors. He was named Germantown Citizen of the Year in 1999 and received the Jackson-area Business Association Man of the Year in 2000.
He was laid to rest on Feb. 11 at Dheinsville Cemetary. In lieu of flowers, the family asked that donations be sent to the Germantown Historical Society.
GO Riteway’s school bus services in southeastern Wisconsininclude daily, home-to-school operations to transportation for athletic teams, special needs groups, field trips, and extracurricular activities. Go Riteway provies service for 25 school districts with more than 500 school buses and 700 employees that operatore of of eight terminals.
The company also provides shuttle service for hospitals and universities as well as special charter trips.
