Bruce Bastian, Utah tech giant and ‘champion of LGBTQ+ rights,’ dies at 76

Bruce Bastian, a key figure in Utah’s tech and LGBTQ+ communities, has died.

Bastian died Sunday morning, according to Troy Williams, executive director of Equality Utah. He was 76.

Bastian was the co-founder of WordPerfect, the word processing application he launched as a grad student at Brigham Young University with his professor, Alan Ashton, in 1979. WordPerfect, originally designed for the city of Orem, became immensely popular in the ‘80s and ‘90s.

By 1991, according to The New York Times, the privately owned company, with Bastian as chairman, ranked fourth among personal computer software publishers — behind Microsoft, Lotus and Novell. In 1994, Novell bought WordPerfect and put Bastian on its board of directors; he resigned a year later.

Bastian shared much of his fortune through the B.W. Bastian Foundation, which has provided grants to dozens of LGBTQ+ organizations and arts nonprofits over the years. (Disclosure: The Salt Lake Tribune is one of the nonprofits to receive grants from Bastian’s foundation.)

News of Bastian’s death spread through local nonprofit and community organizations on Sunday morning.

“No individual has had a greater impact on the lives of LGBTQ Utahns,” Williams wrote in an Equality Utah newsletter.

In a statement to The Salt Lake Tribune, Williams added, “All of our progress as a community over the past three decades can be traced directly back to Bruce. He was our mentor and benefactor, and most importantly, our friend.”

Williams said Bastian’s impact could not be “underscored enough. … We simply would not be where we are today without his love and support. To honor his remarkable life, we are going to recommit ourselves to his great passion: the advancement of freedom and equality for all Americans.”

Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall said Sunday, on the social media platform X, that she was “saddened” by Bastian’s death.

“He leaves a formidable legacy in Salt Lake City, our state and beyond,” Mendenhall wrote. “It’s one which we can all exemplify — working to make this world a better place — whether through leadership in tech, advocating for LGBTQ+ rights, supporting the arts or those we see in need in our community.”

Many of the organizations Bastian championed took time to remember his philanthropic and personal legacies.

In an Instagram post, Project Rainbow Utah characterized Bastian as “our largest support since the beginning.”

The Human Rights Campaign called Bastian, who was a board member for 22 years, a “champion of LGBTQ+ rights.”

“It’s hard to overstate the immense footprint he leaves behind for LGBTQ+ advocates in Washington, D.C., Utah and beyond,” Kelley Robinson, HRC’s president, said in a statement. “Bruce stood up for every one of us and uplifted the beautiful diversity of our community. It’s the kind of legacy we should all be proud to propel forward.”

The group also acknowledged Bastian’s contributions to defeating the Federal Marriage Amendment, introduced in Congress in 2004, which would have marriage could only take place between a man and woman. According to Ballotpedia, an digital encyclopedia of American politics, Bastian donated $364,000 to defeat the Utah Marriage Amendment. The Tribune reported at the time that Bastian contributed “half” of the Don’t Amend Alliance’s budget for fighting the amendment.

His philanthropy also extended to the performing arts. Bastian was a supporter of such organizations as the Utah Symphony | Utah Opera and Ballet West. He donated 55 Steinway pianos to the University of Utah during the renovation of Kingsbury Hall. In 2010, President Barack Obama appointed Bastian to the Presidential Advisory Committee of the Arts.

In 2010, Bastian spoke to Salt Lake City Weekly about the experience, and his background on why he was interested in funding the arts. “Unless you want to be unfeeling robots, we need something artistic in our lives. If you believe in spiritual nurturing, the arts touch the soul,” Bastian said.

“Mostly, people think gay rights or HRC [Human Rights Campaign] when they hear my name. I don’t think they see the connection between me and the arts, which is partly the way life is. I’ll be remembered for what I am remembered for,” Bastian told City Weekly in 2010.

Bastian is survived by his husband, Clint Ford; his four sons: Rick (Heather), Darren (Lisa), Jeff (Cristi) and Robert (Amy); three siblings; and 14 grandchildren. Two siblings, Lewis Bastian and Connie Embree, died previously.

Memorial services have not yet been announced.

This is a developing story, and will be updated.

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