George R. Westfall

George Rensselaer Westfall passed due to heart complications on December 15, 2021. He had a heart attack while visiting his beloved second wife, Susan Adamson in the hospital. He was resuscitated but the most that could be done for him was to make him comfortable, which was done and he was at peace. Sue followed him almost exactly 12 hours later. Ever the gentleman, George had gone on ahead to hold the door open for her when she arrived.

George would be 95 next month and Sue was 93. They both lived their best lives and were living independently until the end. Together they united two families that have been best friends for nearly seventy years. George and Joan met Frank Adamson and Sue in San Francisco in the early Fifties. George’s first wife Joan died in 1994. Joan and George had three sons, Stephen, Donald, and Timothy. Timothy passed in 1996. Sue’s first husband, Frank Adamson died in 1997. Keeping each other company in grief, going to concerts and plays, George and Sue eventually married and presided over both sets of surviving siblings and their own families. George was a loving and adored father to Stephen (Daisy Craddock) and Donald Westfall (Kathleen); stepfather to Margaret (Bruce) Qualls, Ned (Rose) Adamson, and Betsy (John) Adamson; and grandfather to Ben Westfall; Patrick,

Ryan and Sean Qualls; and Michael, Phillip and Stuart Adamson.

George was born in Los Angeles on January 13, 1927 to Fairy Cunningham Westfall, an elementary school English teacher and Fessenden Otis Westfall, a general practice physician and a founding partner in Ross-Loos Hospital. He is survived by his youngest brother, Lawrence. His younger brother, Fessenden Jr., passed in 2017. George attended Los Angeles High School and went into Navy officer training when he was age eligible near the end of World War II. After graduating from Stanford in 1949 he married Joan Lanette Boucher in 1952. Together they moved to Troy, NY, where George set to writing copy for the public relations division of General Electric. Disheartened by northeast weather, they moved back to California in 1957, where they settled in San Francisco. George became a valued copywriter for the west coast branch of the Madison Avenue advertising firm, Foote, Cone & Belding. He later worked for Botsford & Ketchum and provided private consulting work. A prime example of his exceptional copywriting skills was the first brochure for the architecturally esteemed development, The Sea Ranch, on the Mendocino coast north of San Francisco and the introduction of the Visa credit card. George was known for his expansive humor, broad outlook, social compassion and deep faith. He served on the vestry of St. Francis Episcopal Church in San Francisco and joined the parish of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in San Rafael when he moved to Greenbrae to be with Sue. For a number of years George and Sue helped lead the lay worship service at the San Rafael

Health Center on a biweekly schedule. He was also one of the gentleman supporters and helpers of the St. Anne’s Ladies Auxiliary Guild at St. Paul’s. George was beloved as a husband, father, grandfather, stepfather, colleague, and member of a community of faith. Beloved by family and vast circle of friends, his life is celebrated even as his passing is mourned. Due to the pandemic, a private family service will be held in January and a larger celebration of life will planned for late spring. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to The Ritter Center in San Rafael, https://rittercenter. org/