Robert Westerwick Obituary

Robert Arthur ""Bob"" Westerwick died peacefully at his home in Durango on Monday, July 4th, 2016. He was 89 years old. Born in Phoenix, Arizona on October 26, 1926 to August and Mabel Westerwick, he lived there until graduating from North Phoenix High in 1944. Enrolling at the University of Colorado at Boulder, Bob studied Electrical Engineering while also a member of the NROTC/V12 program during WWII. Bob served in the US Navy after the end of the war. Leaving the Navy, he studied physics under Wolfgang Pauli at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. On his return to the United States, Bob married Arden Scheumack, also from Phoenix, in 1953 and they moved to the San Diego area where he worked as an engineer in the aerospace industry.
Bob was an avid outdoorsman--he loved both biking and hiking and was active for many years in the Boy Scouts of America. He earned his Eagle Scout as a teen and served as both a Cub Scout and Boy Scout leader for many years. One of his favorite things to do was to take both sons and Boy Scout Troop 713 on long hikes in the Sierra Nevada and San Bernardino mountains. He was an accomplished artist and had other diverse hobbies, such as beekeeping, judo and was a crack shot with his trusty air rifle. He loved playing bridge, solving puzzles, and always laughed at a good joke. Bob loved his family and was a patient teacher and father. He was very proud that all of his children graduated from college.
In 1995 Bob and Arden moved from Del Mar, California, to Durango, where he became active in the local music scene, serving for several years on the Board of Directors of Music in the Mountains and singing with the Durango Choral Society.
He is survived by his wife of 63 years Arden, sons Greg (Susan) Westerwick of Boulder and Barry (Kerry) Westerwick of Portsmouth, Virginia, and daughters Robynn Westerwick of Encinitas, California, and Kelly (Ray) Villareal of Austin, Texas, sister Jan Combs of Tehachapi, California, five grandchildren--Kevin Westerwick, John and Tom Reimann, Caroline and Dana Villareal--and one great-grandson, Noah Cantrell.
Bob's family knows that he will not be forgotten--on each anniversary of his death there will be family gatherings, parties, celebrations and fireworks across the land.
Services will be private. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to the Hospice of Mercy in Durango, Boy Scouts of America, or other charity or organization of your choice.