Jessie A. Westman

Jessie Anna Westman passed away on Monday, October 23, 2023, at the age of 99. She was born in Anoka, Minnesota on January 25, 1924, when her father, a wounded World War I veteran, was attending the University of Minnesota farm school. When Jessie was six months old, her family moved to Lima, Illinois and at the age of eight, in 1932, they moved to Kingsdale, Minnesota where she attended grade school. She graduated from Cloverton High School in 1940.
Jessie attended Duluth State Teacher College and then took nurses training at Minneapolis General Hospital, where she was a cadet nurse during World War II. She was not able to graduate and practice nursing because she contracted polio during the nationwide epidemic in 1946.
She married Berton Westman on June 3, 1945. They had four children; Michael and Patrick, born in Minneapolis, and Sandra and Linda, born in Superior where Bert was working in body shops and finally opened Westman Auto Body.
Jessie was a member of Trinity United Methodist Church and Faith United Methodist Church. She was a member of Esther Circle, J.O.Y. Circle, and United Methodist Women, where she held several offices through the years.
She was always involved in the organizations that her children were involved in, such as Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Sunday School, 4H, and PTA. She was a member of Douglas County Homemakers, later named Home and Community Education, for over fifty years. She was a member of Retired Seniors Volunteer Program and the Twin Ports Square Dance Club.
Jessie loved to sew. She cut out and sewed, with her friends helping with stuffing, 4,500 Teddy Bears for Mexican children. She has donated many baby quilts to charity, crocheted many beautiful prayer shawls for church, family and friends, and sewed hundreds of prayer pockets. She has crocheted many baby afghans for expectant mothers.
She loved to read, write poetry and stories, and taught her children to love literature.
Jessie is preceded in death by her parents, Clyde and Bertha Whitney; her husband, Berton; and her siblings, James Whitney, Virginia Whitney Kucinski, and Thomas Whitney. She has 10 grandchildren and many great grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at Faith United Methodist Church on Monday, November 13, 2023 at Noon, with visitation one hour prior. Rev. Dan Verdegan will officiate.