Millard Westfall

Millard Frank 'Wes' Westfall Millard was born on June 21, 1920 in American Falls, Idaho, the first child of Frank L. and Stephanie J. 'Fanny' (Verbick) Westfall. Frank and Fanny also had two other children, Herbert C. Westfall and H. Kenneth Westfall. The boys were raised on the family farm near Aberdeen, Idaho where they grew potatoes and sugar beets. As a boy, Millard suffered a mild case of polio which made him a life-long advocate of childhood immunizations. After graduating from Aberdeen High School in 1939, Millard went to Colorado University to study engineering. While there, he met and fell in love with Margery Lambert of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Millard received his degree in Civil Engineering in the spring of 1942. During his senior year, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and Millard applied for enlistment to the Army Corps of Engineers upon his graduation later that spring. While waiting to hear from the Corps, Wes (as he was now known) went to work as an engineer on the construction of the Al-Can highway. Wes was unable to get into the Army Corps of Engineers, but was accepted as a reserve officer in the U.S. Navy. After training at Treasure Island near San Francisco, Wes shipped out as the communications (radio) officer on the oil tanker U.S.S. Neosho. When the Neosho was torpedoed in the South China Sea, Wes was reassigned to graduate school at the Naval Academy. On his way to Annapolis, Wes stopped in Tulsa, Oklahoma and married Marge Lambert. The wedding was on February 21, 1944. Wes and Marge then traveled on to Annapolis and later to Norfolk, Connecticut where Wes served on the commissioning crew of the U.S.S. Boxer, a newly built aircraft carrier. Wes shipped out on the Boxer and Marge returned to Tulsa to live with her parents. Wes served on the Boxer until December 11, 1945 when he was released from Naval service in Seattle. Wes raced from Seattle to Tulsa and arrived in time for the birth of his son, Donald, on December 13, 1945. Wes had a Civil Engineering degree and experience in communications engineering during his service in the Navy. However, there were few jobs in either field. Wes' father-in-law was a geologist for Phillips Petroleum and used his influence to get Wes a job with Cities Service as an oil field engineer. From 1945 to 1952, Wes worked for Cities Service as a field engineer and moved his family around the oil fields, including Bartlesville and Ponca City, Oklahoma; Madison, Kansas, and Odessa and Graham, Texas. During this period of time, Wes and Marge gave birth to their daughter, Margot, on October 7, 1947. Margot was born while Marge was again visiting her parents in Tulsa. Wes accepted the position of Manager of Production for Husky Oil Company in 1952. He moved his family to Cody, Wyoming to manage the oil production in Husky's Wyoming fields. Wes moved his family to Calgary, Alberta to accept the position of Vice President of Production for the newly merged Husky Oil Limited. Wes and Marge were transferred to Denver, Colorado in 1972 where he became Senior Vice President of Production and Exploration. Wes was asked to take on the task of managing Husky's exploration and production of the Naval Petroleum Reserve (NPR) No.4 in northern Alaska. Wes and Marge moved to Anchorage to take on this new assignment. Wes and Marge then moved to Santa Maria, California in 1978 where Wes became Vice President of Special Production Projects. During their years in Denver, Anchorage, and Santa Maria, Marge was battling cancer. In 1979, as Wes and Marge were relocating to Denver, Marge lost the battle and died. Wes continued as Vice President of Husky Oil in Denver. During this period, he met and married Dorothy Mae (Anderson) Sutton on November 22, 1980. Wes retired from Husky Oil in 1982. Wes and Dorothy used their leisure time in retirement to play golf and travel. A significant part of their travels was to see their grandchildren: Christopher Lehman, Gary Westfall, and Jennifer and Jessica Sutton. Not satisfied with just the leisure life, Wes joined the Rotary Club in Littleton, Colorado in 1983 and became very involved in many of the community activities associated with the Club. He became a Paul Harris Fellow of Rotary International. Wes was also a life member of BPO Elks and the Society of Petroleum Engineers. When Wes was nominated to be Distinguished Engineering Alumni of Colorado University in 1996, one of the nominators described Wes as 'one of those fine 'Ëœold fashioned' gentlemen . . . whose word was his bond.' In addition to a distinguished career, Wes had the fortune to be married to two wonderful women in a single lifetime '"" 35 years with Marge and 27 years with Dorothy. In April 2007, Wes and Dorothy became great-grandparents with the birth of Jessica's son Porter James Deering. Wes and Dorothy had 26 years of happy companionship and it is with a grateful heart that they say goodbye until they meet again. When we think of these companions who traveled by our side down life's road, let us not say with sadness that they left us behind but rather say with gratitude that they once were with us. Memorial donations may be made to Westfall Scholarship Fund, C.U. Foundation, 4740 Walnut Street, Boulder, CO 80301.