John Westmoreland

John is survived by his wife of 57 years, Joan, his daughter Sarah, his daughter Hannah (Mike) Babcock, their children Mathilda and Winston, his son Alex (Amanda), and their children Kate and Evan. In England John is survived by his sister Jill (Bill) Russell, niece Kate, nephew John, Kate’s children Jenny (John) and Simon, and Jenny’s and John’s daughter Heidi.

John was born October 17, 1940, to parents Jack and Nancy. When rain kept John and his older sister, Jill, out of the countryside in which they grew up, Jill would teach John reading, writing, and arithmetic at an early age. This set John on an early pathway to academic excellence, eventually leading him to earn a coveted spot, and a scholarship, to the Nottingham High School.

Perhaps feeling insufficiently challenged by the rigors of being a top student, John also pursued tennis at a high level – even competing for his school at a National Schools Competition. With some of the time he had left in each day, John taught himself the harmonica and the piano – both of which he played throughout his life.

Following Nottingham High School John attended Birmingham University where he became an honors Chemical Engineering graduate before going on to receive his Ph.D. from Birmingham in 1966. During his work at university he also spent time teaching math, playing tennis as the captain of the university team (and a semi-finalist in British Universities play), performing stand-up comedy routines, and, of course, meeting Joan! John and Joan were married in 1966.

In 1966 John started his career with Chevron after nearly missing out on his chance to interview due to a scheduling mishap. In just the 10 minutes he was allowed for the discussion he was able to secure a position with the company and kicked off a 34 year career that included research, manufacturing, economic analysis, process planning, engineering, organization, as well as real estate management for Chevron (CREMCO). John served on a board within the American Institute for Chemical Engineers, as well as for the Engineers Club of San Francisco. He finished his career leading Chevron through the Y2K transition and he retired in 2000 before his 60th birthday.

Along the way John and Joan became very active in their local church where John served on or ran several committees. He played the harmonica every Sunday as part of the service, and he designed and built a labyrinth on the grounds. He and Joan had three children – Sarah, Hannah, and Alex. John was generous with his time and knowledge while teaching them all to drive, play tennis, succeed in educational pursuits, and how to work humor into any and all situations. He was known to occasionally rebuild portions of the house on his own – a habit he also made available to his children over the years. John was generous in his efforts to raise funds for many charities, and schools, including the schools he had attended in youth so that the scholarship support from which he benefited could similarly help future students. John was an avid golfer and would surely be annoyed if it was not mentioned that he had broken 80 on the course! In his pursuit of the joys of golf he established a regular golf group which he “managed” and that played every Saturday for many years at courses all around the Bay Area. Since his passing we have received many nice notes about John and the group that he began. The group is still going on since John’s retirement from golf, and they are referred to as “The Westies.” In each of the notes we received the themes of humor, welcoming, intelligence, and leadership come through. After retiring, John and Joan traveled the world, putting pins in every corner of the map and spent lots of time playing with their grandchildren in their roles as “Grammie and Papa.”

Surely the sign of a life well lived is a long list of people who can immediately recall the many positive influences they experienced from knowing you. Perhaps one of the most powerful influences John exerted on the world around him was the ability to find the humor in the moment, and to laugh. For that we can all thank him, especially in this time of mourning, where every chance to smile or laugh provides us with a break from the sadness, and a powerful reminder of the man to whom we wish farewell.

A memorial service will be held for John in February. Please contact the family for details. In lieu of flowers the family asks that donations be made to Mare Island Historic Park Foundation, or your favorite charity.