AUGUSTA – Robert William Westgate, 85, of Newington, Conn. passed away due to complications related to COVID-19 in the early morning hours of Monday, Dec. 7, 2020.

Bob was the beloved husband of Elizabeth “Betty” (Dowling) Westgate for 62 years. Bob’s children and grandchildren will fondly remember their visits outdoors on sunny days and treasured phone calls during these challenging times.

Robert, the only child of William Gilbert Westgate and Esther Concordia (Carlson) Westgate, was born May 26, 1935, in Lewiston. He grew up in Gardiner, and graduated as valedictorian from Gardiner High School in 1953. Bob attended Brown University on a U.S. Navy ROTC scholarship, class of 1957.

He and Betty were married on Nov. 8, 1958, in Augusta, and immediately settled in Norfolk, Va. while Bob completed his commitment to the military. He spent three years as an officer in the U.S. Navy where he was deployed in Europe and throughout the Mediterranean.

In 1964 he and his family moved to Newington, Conn. and Bob began his career as a safety engineer at Travelers Insurance Company. He earned his MBA at night from the University of Hartford through the GI Bill. Bob had a passion for teaching, and he spent 20 years as an evening instructor at Central Connecticut State University, teaching organizational behavior and management courses. He was communicant of Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Newington.

In his retirement, Robert enjoyed traveling to Maine to visit friends and family, reading non-fiction, and visiting with his grandchildren and grand dogs. He loved woodworking, and made gifts for family, including oak beds for his grandchildren. He always had a woodworking or home improvement project underway. He put his bass voice to use in the Silk City Men’s Chorus in Manchester. His family will remember hearing his voice as he did chores, at Mass, and during the holidays when he sang one of his favorites, “Hallelujah Chorus”.

In addition to his wife Betty, Bob is survived by his son, James and his wife Eileen (Arsenault) Westgate, his son, John and his wife Nancy Zachor, and his daughter, Mary Larson and her husband Eric K. Larson, M.D. Bob was most proud of his grandchildren, Michael, Beth Ann, James, Brian, Cyrus, Thomas, Daniel and Luke. Bob leaves a wide circle of friends in the Hartford area and in Maine. He never missed a high school reunion in Gardiner.

Funeral services will be private with Duksa Family Funeral Homes at Newington Memorial, 20 Bonair Ave., Newington. Burial will be at Saint Mary’s Cemetery in Augusta. Public services will be held on a date to be determined.

To share a message, please visit us at http://www.duksa.net.

Contributions may be made to

Holy Spirit Catholic Church,

183 Church Street,

Newington, CT 06111.

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