Wayne Westover
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- Category: Obituaries
- Created on Friday, 18 January 2013 12:01
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Wayne Westover, a longtime Sitka resident, died peacefully in his sleep on Jan. 13, 2013, at the age of 84.
A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 19, at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, followed by a reception at the Elks Lodge.
Graveside services will be 1 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 23, at Sitka National Cemetery.
Wayne was born in Clagstone, Idaho, June 27, 1928. The family moved to Port Alexander, where Wayne spent part of his childhood, and then came to Sitka. He graduated from Sitka High School in 1946.
An interesting sidenote is that Wayne’s father was maintenance and caretaker of the Castle Hill building, where the family lived.
Wayne, known as “Pee Wee” by many, was a member of the Elks Lodge, and enjoyed morning coffee and conversations with his buddies.
Wayne served in the U.S. Army, and was stationed in Japan following World War II. After he was discharged, his primary job was fishing. He had other occupations also, but fishing is what he did best – he trained a number of greenhorns on the ropes of fishing.
In the last remaining years of his life, Wayne battled a number of physical disabilities. Complications from diabetes caused the loss of a leg and part of a foot. After a year in hospitals, nursing homes and family homes, Wayne was finally able to return to his beloved Sitka and live out the last two months of his life.
Wayne leaves behind his former wife, Marlene, of Sitka; daughters Debra Diebert of Marysville, Wash., and Dianne Graveline of Eugene, Wash.; grandchildren Janis, Bradley, Johanna and Jennifer; great-grandchildren Lauren, Brendan, Lilly, Tristan, Jason, Eliot, and Asa; niece Carolyn Hammack and her husband Ray and niece Cheryl Westover; and grandnephew Michael Coleman and his wife Tessie and their children Michaela, Malissa, Kaycie, Trevan, and Chance, of Sitka.
Wayne was preceeded in death by his father and mother, Bernard James and Marie (Kraak) Westover; brothers Stanley and Don; son Keith; nephew Rick; and sister-in-law Mardelle Westover.
“We also mention his dog Harry who was a wonderful companion to Wayne and died two months before him,” his family said.
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Photo caption: Mary Lou Colliver presents Sitka Fire Dept. Acting Chief Dave Swearingen a check for $325 to help restore the 1926 Chevrolet fire truck originally purchased by Art Franklin. Colliver donated the money after her business, Colliver Shoes, borrowed the truck to use during Moonlight Madness. The truck is in need of an estimated $20,000 worth of restoration work, Swearingen said.
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