Richard Westerman

Richard Philip Westerman West Lafayette - Richard Philip Westerman (Rick), of West Lafayette Indiana, passed away peacefully on September 1, 2020 in his home, in the loving care of friends and family. After over two years of courageously dealing with Glioblastoma and the disabling effects of brain surgery, he was at peace and ready to pass. Due to his love for science and research, Rick participated in a clinical trial for over a year in hopes that it would get researchers one step closer in finding a cure for Glioblastoma. And although his encounter with Glioblastoma had many challenges and obstacles, he heroically and calmly coped until the end. Rick was born on August 15, 1954, the first of four children, in Denver CO. His family moved to Indianapolis when he was eight. He graduated from North Central H.S. and then departed Indy to attend Purdue University in 1972. He became a student computer programmer in the early days of computers and way before the internet as we know it. He received his B.S. in Computer Science in 1987 but was a full-time Purdue employee for a number of years prior to earning his degree. He was appreciated and fondly regarded by faculty and staff in every one of the College of Agriculture departments in which he worked until his diagnosis in 2018. Rick was an avid strategy gamer, winning his first tournament in 1974, where he also met his future best friend and gamer in arms. He was well-known in the community as a keen strategist and fierce competitor. For most of three decades he was an active volunteer and volunteer coordinator in several community festivals and programs, including the Indiana Fiddlers' Gathering, Feast of the Hunters' Moon, Friends of Bob, and the Taste of Tippecanoe. In 2003 he and his wife, Linda Swihart, became involved in Warren Piece, a community of like-minded conservationists. A large part of his heart will always be with the prairie, the community, and the woods. He was predeceased by his father, Richard Loucks Westerman, in March 2018, and his uncles John and Richard Perry in 2002 and 2010, respectively. He was interred at a small private cemetery in a private service. He is survived by his wife Linda Swihart, daughters India Gilham-Westerman and Naomi Wolsieffer, son Robert Wolf (Gina Wolf), mother Phyllis Westerman, siblings Perry Westerman (Jennifer), Amber Westerman, and Kaila Westerman (Trung Bui), and best canine companion Barley. He is missed terribly by friends and family and all others who have been touched by his gentle good nature, calm and quiet leadership, and his very silly and wonderfully childlike expressions of humor. Donations can be made in Rick's memory to the Purdue Research Foundation Rick Westerman Memorial Scholarship for Minorities in Agriculture, to NICHES land trust, or to the American Cancer Society, or more specifically, Cleveland Hope Lodge, and would be very meaningful to Rick's family.