The following is the eulogy given by Karen, Earl's daughter, at the funeral Tuesday. It is her hope that this will give you a feel for the man he was and the amazing life he led.
Today is a celebration of the life of a special person. My father, Earl William Paul Westedt was a German in every way. He was fiercely proud and independent, intelligent and a man dedicated to his wife and family. He spent his life devoted to these traits.
He was multi-talented being a truck driver, a telegraph installer, an electrician, a welder, a home renovator, a plumber, an iron forger, or anything else that needed to be done. He believed that all one needed to do was figure out a way to do the task and then do it (digging and putting in a basement under the house).
He taught us to respect life and nature. That bits of heaven and God were here on Earth in the sun, trees, wildlife, and the rest of our surroundings. A camping or traveling vacation was more than just going someplace. It was a learning experience (like hurrying to go to the bathroom when camping, so your bottom won’t freeze or the mosquitoes won’t bite). The knowledge and respect gained on these excursions is still guiding us today and into the future.
He believed his body was God’s temple. He should honor it by caring for it in the best way possible. So he never smoked or drank, exercised to keep fit, and ate well. Because of this belief, he had no need to see a doctor until the last year of his life and only because we made him.
He believed in being independent, often using the saying “the Westedt’s against the world.” He meant this in a positive way. We were to learn to take care of ourselves physically, mentally, and spiritually through exercise, becoming educated, and having a religious belief. He challenged us to do our best at everything.
There were things he told us to do but because we were young, we resisted. We eventually learned that he was right and his way had much merit (doing chore first then playing).
He believed in family (people thought we were Catholic because we had such a large family). He worked overtime to provide us with necessities and bought camping, fishing, and hunting equipment so we could spend our spare time together as a family. Oh, the sights we saw and the activities we did together we will cherish.
The world changed before his very eyes:
-From horse and buggy to cars, to space travel
-From prairie medicine and doctors making house calls to mega hospitals,
transplants, and lasers
-From radios to movies, to TV, to DVD
-From newspapers, letters, and party lines to cell phones with text messaging, cameras, and computers
-From neighborhood concerns to global issues
He saw, experienced, and had many firsts in our home: TV, dryer, microwave, dishwasher, and being the first draftee in Muskegon
He told us many stories of events in his life like:
-witnessing the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre in Chicago during Al Capone’s reign
-delivering canes and packages for the mob
-the CCC camps in Idaho and California
-helping Charles Lindberg find his way after incorrectly landing at Midway Field in Chicago
-playing tennis as Bill Tilden’s partner
-swimming with Buster Crabb, who later became Tarzan
-riding his Indian motorcycle
-seeing the Eastman excursion boat tip over with the loss of many lives in the Chicago River
-shooting bows with Fred Bear and Bitszenburger
-being sent to “fix” the ticker tape at the Chicago stock market in 1929 and determining that the market had crashed
-meeting famous celebrities in the theaters in Chicago
-volunteering to sing with famous singers at the Argonne Theater and
impressing them so much they requested him to sing at future concerts
We celebrate the life of a good German. Earl Paul Westedt was a special man. We thank you for giving us life…we love you.##imported-begin##Amy Bryant##imported-end##
