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Richard “Dick” Earl Westerman
01/18/1935 — 06/05/2013
From Richland, WA, US | Born in Great Falls, MT
Richard “Dick” Earl Westerman
Richard Earl Westerman Surrounded by his adoring family, Richard Earl Westerman passed away at home on June 5, 2013, after a brief bout with cancer. Richard, also known as "Dick", "R.E.", or "Rad", really loved people, and in turn was loved by many.
Born on January 18, 1935, in Great Falls, Montana, to Edwin and Veronica Westerman, Dick was the second-born of identical twins. He and twin brother Ed shared a deep and lasting bond throughout their lives. Separated by many miles, their yearning for each other's company led to frequent family reunions, and shared hunting and fishing trips. Dick captivated all with his magnetic personality. His ever-present wit and humor leavened any event with jokes, funny stories, and roaring laughter.
Dick grew up in Butte, Montana, a city and state that forever remained close to his heart. He graduated from the Montana School of Mineral Science and Technology in 1956 with a degree in Metallurgical Engineering. He earned his doctorate in Metallurgy from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York, in 1959. There he met Rose, the love of his life and wife of 55 years. They married in Cohoes, New York, Rose's home town. Soon after son John was born, the young family moved to Richland, Washington, where Dick began work with General Electric at the Hanford Laboratories. He transferred to Battelle in 1965, where he worked until his retirement in 1995. Dick greatly enjoyed the technical aspects of his job, and he nurtured that love of science and math in his children. He was involved in many areas of metallurgy research, including determining the behavior of metals in nuclear reactors, developing solutions for long-term containment of nuclear waste, and materials selection and evaluation for bone and tooth implants in the human body.
A competitive trapshooter and expert marksman, Dick won many trophies, and posted the highest official score ever achieved in a Pistol Gallery Match at the old Sacajawea Gun Club in Richland. He lived for his annual Kelly Hill deer hunting trip with brother Ed and other family members. For 38 years straight he and Rose looked forward to their annual Curlew Lake fishing trip with family and friends. Every summer Dick and Ed would make their pilgrimage to Montana, to fish the Madison River and visit with their beloved Montana extended family.
Ever feeding his appetite for the arts, Dick developed himself into a modestly accomplished guitar player, painter, and French speaker. His guitar accompanied the singing of his Catholic Spirit of Love Prayer Group for over 30 years. He honed his French skills with his French speaking group and on trips to France with wife Rose.
Each winter Dick counted the days to the planting of his many heirloom tomato seeds, which he attentively cultivated into 8-foot giants in handmade custom wire cages. He grew huge, juicy, tomatoes in awe-inspiring abundance, and relished giving them to friends and neighbors.
Richard is preceded in death by his parents, Edwin and Veronica Westerman, and son-in-law Dan Walling. He is survived by his wife Rose; their children John Jan, Steve Heidi, Tom Lynn, and Laura; seven grandchildren; one great-granddaughter; brothers Ed Donna and Gary; and sister Carol John. Viewing and visitation for family and friends is at Christ the King Catholic Church, 1111 Stevens Drive, Richland, 9:15 a.m. Tuesday, June 11. Rosary service follows at 10:15 a.m., with Mass at 11:00 a.m., and reception lunch at noon.
Interment is 10 a.m. Wednesday, June 12, Sunset Memorial Gardens, 915 Bypass Hwy, Richland.
In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be made to The Chaplaincy Hospice Care, 1480 Fowler St., Richland, WA 99352; or Christ the King Catholic Church.
Lynn & Tom,
I’m so sorry to read of your loss. I was looking at my mom’s obituary & saw the familiar name. My thoughts & prayers are with your family.
Dawn Craig Lum
Our prayers and thoughts are with the family of Dick and Rose and all of the Westerman family
Love,
Barry Sherry Hayden
The Kinsel family is saddened by the loss of a valued neighbor and a fine gentleman.
Westerman Family: I was very saddened to hear of Dick’s passing. I can still hear him calling me “Little Karkie Minsel”. My thoughts and prayers are with you all.
Lynn & Tom,
I’m so sorry to read of your loss. I was looking at my mom’s obituary & saw the familiar name. My thoughts & prayers are with your family.
Dawn Craig Lum
Our prayers and thoughts are with the family of Dick and Rose and all of the Westerman family
Love,
Barry Sherry Hayden
The Kinsel family is saddened by the loss of a valued neighbor and a fine gentleman.
Westerman Family: I was very saddened to hear of Dick’s passing. I can still hear him calling me “Little Karkie Minsel”. My thoughts and prayers are with you all.
I knew Dick for many years at Battelle, and worked for him my last years there. He took a deep personal interest in my writing, providing comments and corrections for cycle after cycle, so reports were always late. His commitment to quality was so deep that schedule made no difference at all. I never knew that writing was an exact science, like physics. Through his undying interest, Dick helped me out…of Battelle, toward a productive career as a teacher. I never got a chance to thank him, so am submitting this for partial credit.
I enjoyed a fishing vacation at Lake Curlew with Dick, Rose, Tom, Lynn and Laura and her triplets. During this,I got to know Dick better and came to appreciate his friendship, his wit and stimulating conversation.
Rest in peace my friend.
Dick was a friend and colleague for over 45 years. I admired his command of the English language–he valued precision in everything.
He had a unique sense of humor that often left us laughing.
During our Battelle careers I often sought his advice and counsel on technical problems and insight on a personal level about assuming a management position.
We still have the grape plants he gave us during the 70’s. He also gave us an oak seedling from the oak in his back yard after three failures on our attempts to grow an oak. That seedling is now 20 feet high.
After retirement we enjoyed periodic lunches where we shared opinions on current challenges.
He loved an occasional poker game and he introduced us to the game of Mexican train.
He certainly was a gentleman and a scholar who inspired many that he met.
I feel very fortunate to have the interactions with Dick over these many years. He left quite a nice trail on his journey through this life.
I will miss him.
I just received an email today from my brother informing me Mr. Westerman’s passing. I grew up across the street and two houses down from the Westermans.
My parents were neighbors with the Westermans for over 30 years. They were also members of the same prayer group through Christ the King Church for at least 30 years as well.
These are my recollections of Mr. Westerman. The primary word that comes to mind is the word regal, which is not a word commonly associated with former citizens of Butte, MT. I do fondly recall him asking me how things were going for me on a break from college at WSU. I told Mr. Westerman that I “was doing good.” “No Mr. Gannon,” he said,”we are not doing good, we are doing well.” His smirk is still etched into my memory.
Obviously Mr. Westerman made a positive impression on my family, I will fondly remember him as a neat man, even now my soul is light thinking about him. The Gannons’ prayers are with the surviving Westerman family.
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Richard “Dick” Earl Westerman