William Blount Westbrook

PORTSMOUTH—William Blount “Bill” Westbrook of 5871 Harbourview Boulevard died on May 20, 2022. 

He was born in Portsmouth, VA on April 24, 1919, the son of Arthur Blount and Lillian Cole Westbrook.  He was predeceased by his wife of sixty-seven years, Margaret Wiersdorf Westbrook; his daughter, Kendall Westbrook Rhodes; and a great-grandson, William Taylor Rhodes, Jr.

Bill was educated in the Portsmouth Public School System and was an alumnus of the Georgia Institute of Technology.  He retired after forty years as a Mechanical Engineer in the Design Division of the Norfolk Naval Shipyard.  In the 1940's, he worked for two years with NASA, Langley Field in West Engineering.  After retirement, he worked for another ten years with CDI Marine as Planning Manager in Chesapeake and Portsmouth.  He was a life member of the National Association of Naval Technical Supervisors.

Mr. Westbrook was an Elder and past Trustee for the First Presbyterian Church of Portsmouth.

He was a Past President and Past Most Valuable Member of the Ambassador Club of Portsmouth and served for thirty-plus years as Chairman of its Board of Directors.  In 2015, Mr. Westbrook was presented with the "Diamond Award" for 75 years of dedicated service, and the library was renamed "The Bill Westbrook Board Room".  In the late 1950s and early 60s, he designed and supervised two expansions to the building.  In 2018, he was elected Chairman, Board of Directors, Emeritus.                              

Bill was a 32nd Degree Mason, an honorary seventy-year member of Portsmouth Lodge #100 AF&AM, a sixty-year member of Mount Horeb Chapter of Royal Arch Masons, the Scottish Rite, Valley of Portsmouth, and Khedive Temple A.A.O.N.M.S. and at one time a member of its Drum and Bugle Corps.

He served as a long-time volunteer at Portsmouth General Hospital and, at the time of its dissolution, was 1st Vice-President of the Auxiliary.  He continued to volunteer at Bon Secours Health Center at both Harbourview and Maryview Medical Center.

In recent years, he served as Chairman of the Building and Grounds Committee of the Leadership Council of the Crossings at Harbourview in Suffolk.

Mr. Westbrook is survived by his son-in-law, Carl Edward Rhodes, Jr. of Midlothian; and two grandsons: Carl E. Rhodes III (Trey), his wife Theresa and great-grandchildren Carson Edward Rhodes and Lily Suzanne Rhodes of Chambersburg, PA; and William Taylor Rhodes, his wife Kerri and great-granddaughter, Blair Elizabeth Rhodes of Ashland, VA; and nine nephews and three nieces.

A celebration of life will be held 11:00 a.m. Saturday, June 4, at the Ambassador Club. A reception will immediately follow the service. 

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the General Fund of First Presbyterian Church, 515 Court St., Portsmouth, VA 23704, or the Scholarship Fund of the Ambassador Club of Portsmouth at 364 Peninsula Avenue, Portsmouth, VA 23704. Condolences may be registered at BWFosterFuneralHome.com.