Joseph Gerhard WESTBY

WESTBY, ELEFSON, PAULSON, FROWICK, PETERSON, WOLD, EDWARDS

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 9/19/2006 at 21:42:51

Joseph Gerhard Westby, 94, of Clarion, died Saturday, June 30, 2001, at USA Healthcare Center, Clarion. A funeral service will be held Sunday, July 15 at Highland Prairie Church, Rushford, Minnesota. Interment will be in Highland Prairie Cemetery. Willim Funeral Home of Clarion and Hoff Funeral Home, Rushford are in charge of arrangements. Joseph Gerhard Westby was born December 18, 1906, on a family farm near Rushford, Minnesota, the son of Christian and Dora (Elefson) Westby. He was the eighth of nine children. He graduated in 1928 from Luther College in Decorah. For 17 years he taught History and Band in several Iowa towns. While teaching in Forest City, he met Blanche Paulson, who was also a History teacher. They were married in 1934 and were the parents of one daughter. In 1940, Joseph earned his Master of Arts in Music from the University of Iowa. He returned to Forest City with his family in 1945 and began employment with the New York Life Insurance Company. In 1965, he became a Chartered Life Underwriter for New York Life Insurance Company. While living in Forest City, Joseph served on the school board and the city council as well as several civic organizations. He and his family were members of Immanuel Lutheran Church. Following his retirement in 1971, Joseph and Blanche briefly lived in Hot Springs Village, Arkansas, before returning to Forest City. After the death of Blanche in 1981, he and Vera Frowick Peterson were married in 1982. They lived in Decorah and Mesa, Arizona, before moving to Clarion in 1992. They lived at the Meadows and attended First Lutheran Church, Clarion. Musically gifted, Joseph led or participated in bands and choirs throughout his adult life. He was also a very skilled golfer and was an avid fan of the Chicago Cubs.

He is survived by his wife, Vera of Fort Dodge; daughter, Margaret Wold and husband, John of Evanston, Illinois; step-daughter, Diane Edwards and husband, Paul of Clarion; step-son, Clinton Peterson of California; two granddaughters; and one great-grandson.

© Wright County Monitor 2001