Harvey Birtill Westbrook Sr.

Harvey Birtill Westbrook, Sr. Harvey Birtill Westbrook, Sr. was called home by our Savior and Heavenly Father on Wednesday December 14, 2005. He succumbed to Alzheimers and kidney failure after a long illness. He is survived by his wife Mary Jane, three step-children and his son. Harvey was born in Elgin Texas on July 7, 1922. He was the 9th of 10 children born to Viola E. (Pinkie) Ellison and Horace Greeley Westbrook. After graduating from Booker T. Washington High School, he attended Prairie View College. While attending Prairie View, he was drafted into the U.S. Army's 777th battalion. Harvey served with merit as Chief of Gun Section in the 777th Battalion at the European Theater of Operations in the U.S. Army in World War II. After his return from active duty, he returned to Prairie View and earned his bachelors degree. He then did graduate coursework at the University of Nebraska and the University of Iowa, and earned his masters degree in agricultural education from the Tuskeegee Institute in 1955. After meeting in 1966, Harvey courted Mary Jane Byrd-Stancil for 2 years over the phone and they got married after seeing each other only seven times. At the time she was a divorcee with three children from her first marriage. Their marriage produced another son. They celebrated their 37th anniversary in June 2005. Harvey taught agriculture and worked as an agricultural extension at Kilgore Junior College. He moved back to Elgin to assist his elderly parents. After returning to Elgin, Harvey completed seminary coursework for the ministry, worked as a licensed real estate broker, a licensed insurance agent, owned and operated Westbrook Apartments in Austin and Elgin, and owned the expanded section of Westbrook Memorial Gardens in Elgin, Texas. In addition, he was happiest raising cattle on land that has been in his family for generations. Harvey taught math at Gary Job Corps and retired after 25 years. While at Gary, he was the President of the Gary Job Corps Federal Credit Union. For many years, Harvey was the President of the Elgin Chapter of the NAACP. He took an active role in forcing the City of Elgin to equitably distribute resources and public services to all its citizens. His candidacy for city council in 1975 was instrumental in the subsequent lawsuit that forced the City of Elgin to convert to single member districts which resulted in the first elected minority representation. He is survived by his wife, Mary Jane Westbrook, their children George Michael Stancil, Richard Stancil, Shereecia Stancil and Dr. Harvey Westbrook, Jr. PhD, his brother Booker Westbrook, his sister Minnie Kyle, six grandchildren, and many loving nephews, nieces, cousins, and friends. Visitation will be held from 3:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m., on Sunday December 18, 2005, at the Elgin Funeral Home, 712 North Avenue C, Elgin, TX. Services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Monday, December 19, 2005, at Mt. Moriah Baptist Church, 701 S. Main, Elgin. Interment was at Westbrook Memorial Gardens. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial contributions be made to the Elgin Chapter of the NAACP, P.O. Box 779, Elgin TX, 78621 or Hospice Austin's Christopher House, 2820 E. Martin Luther King Blvd, Austin, Texas 78702. Arrangements by Elgin Funeral Home, 281-5697.