Westheimer, Paul Ernst

1930 - 2022  (91 years)

• Name	Westheimer, Paul Ernst  [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11]
  Born	7 Oct 1930	Basel, Switzerland   [4, 6, 8, 11, 12, 13]
  Gender	Male
  Immigration	23 Jun 1941	New York, New York, New York, USA   [14, 15]
  	Serpa Pinto
  Died	11 Feb 2022	Massachusetts, USA   [16]
  Person ID	I19731	Our Family
  Last Modified	29 Aug 2024

  
  

  Father	Westheimer, Julius,   b. 15 Apr 1899, Grosseicholzheim, Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis, Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, Germany ,   d. 19 Apr 1994, Cobleskill, Schoharie, New York, USA  (Age 95 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Mother	Wolf, Marguerite Elisabeth,   b. 31 Aug 1907, Basel, Basel-Stadt, Switzerland ,   d. 16 Apr 1999, Howes Cave, Schoharie, New York, USA  (Age 91 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Married	1928	Switzerland   [8, 11, 17, 18]
  Family ID	F6147	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Kahn, Rose,   b. 30 Mar 1932, Bischofsheim, Gross-Gerau, Hessen, Germany ,   d. 13 May 2021, Massachusetts, USA  (Age 89 years)
  Married	25 Jan 1953	Middleburgh, Schoharie, New York, USA   [1, 4, 19, 20]
  Children	1. Westheimer, Alan Jay   2. Westheimer, Carol Rhoda   3. Westheimer, Kim
  Last Modified	29 Aug 2024
  Family ID	F7521	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  Paul Westheimer died on February 11th at the age of 91 with family by his side. Paul is universally remembered by his family and friends for his kind and gentle nature, his patience, his staunch ethics, his sense of adventure, and his sense of humor (including many groanable puns). Paul and all of his wonderful qualities will be greatly missed. Paul was born in Basel, Switzerland and emigrated to the US with his parents in 1942. They soon moved to Middleburgh NY where they operated a small dairy farm. Upon graduating from High School, Paul went to MIT to study physics and returned to the farm before graduating to help his father. He never lost his love of learning and curiosity about how things work and passed those qualities to his children and grandchildren. An immediate benefit of moving back to Middleburgh is that he met the love of his life, Rose Kahn, also the daughter of Jewish Immigrants. They were married in 1953, started a family and moved to Schoharie, NY where they founded Schoharie Valley Farms (SVF). At SVF they grew vegetables that were sold to grocery stores and to Beech-Nut Baby Food. Former employees at the farm remembered them as unique employers and many stayed in touch after the farm was sold. They have shared their appreciation for Paul and Rose whether for taking a chance on them by hiring them for their first job or being there for them and their children through hard times. Paul also used the farm as a way of contributing to knowledge in the field of agriculture and worked with Cornell University to conduct research related to integrated pest management. He was also president of the local Farm Bureau Chapter. You might say he was outstanding in his field. Paul was a long-time member of Agudat Achim Synagogue in Niskayuna NY, where he and Rose had a close-knit group of friends. Work and community melded with the founding of the synagogue's Carrot Festival in 1978. The annual fall event has continued since then, showcasing foods and desserts from all over the world including carrot cake, carrot bagels, local produce, and music. Paul had many hobbies and interests. He learned to fly planes, loved to ski, and was an avid photographer. At age 70 he had his first photography exhibit. He was engaged in his local community in many ways, including being a member of the Schoharie Central School Board for 13 years and Board President for part of that time. He engaged in local environmental advocacy and was a member of the Masons. Paul also enjoyed family vacations on Cape Cod and traveling around the country with Rose in Gulliver, their RV, which they enjoyed as a couple and with their grandchildren. In 2018 the whole family returned for a week in Cape Cod, and he said that being able to swim in the ocean on that trip was a highlight of his life! Paul and Rose moved to Massachusetts in 2015 to be near their children and grandchildren. After 68 years of being married to Rose, it surprised no one that he would feel unmoored after she died in May of 2021. Throughout their lives together, they were a team, always doing things together whether work or play. In the end, she helped him navigate dementia, with which he struggled in the last few years of his life. A few months before he died, Paul fell in love with this Ralph Waldo Emerson quote and said it represented his philosophy: "To laugh often and much: To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children, to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you lived. This is to have succeeded." Paul is survived by his daughter Carol Westheimer, daughter Kim Westheimer and her wife Madeline Klyne, and two grandchildren Allie and Joe Sosinsky and Allie's husband Jake. He was predeceased by his son, Alan Westheimer and his wife, Rose Westheimer.

  
  

• Sources

  Citation Text: Date of Import: Jul 22, 2003. [S432] Brazil Immigration Cards, familysearch.org. [S239] Original Import into Legacy. [S349] Westheimer2.FTW. Date of Import: Jul 22, 2003 [S432] Brazil Immigration Cards, familysearch.org, Record for Kisiel. [S447] Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Immigration Cards, 1900-1965, Ancestry.com, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.;). Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Immigration Cards, 1900-1965 [S119] New York State, Marriage Index, 1881-1967, Ancestry.com, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.;), New York State Department of Health; Albany, NY, USA; New York State Marriage Index. New York State, Marriage Index, 1881-1967 [S3763] Westheimer2.FTW (Reliability: 3). Date of Import: Jul 22, 2003 [S3733] Brazil Immigration Cards, familysearch.org. [S3661] Original Import into Legacy. [S349] Westheimer2.FTW (Reliability: 3). Date of Import: Jul 22, 2003 [S2220] Trude Stern. [S3872] Trude Stern. [S377] New York Passenger Lists, Ancestry.com, (Name: Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2006;). [S729] New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957, Ancestry.com, (Name: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.Original data - Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1820-1897; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M237, 675 rolls); Records of the U.S. Customs Service, ;), Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York , 1820-1897; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M237 , 675 rolls); Records of the U. S. Customs Service, Record Group 36; National Archives , Washington, D.C.Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Ar Name: Albert MortonChambers residence date: 1935 birth date: 1/14/1910 birth place: New York City (All Boroughs), New York, USA arrival date: 4 May 1934 arrival place: New York departure place: New York [S3729] Obit. [S3799] Inference, Wife & son born in Switzerland (Reliability: 3). [S3969] Susan Boggia. Date of Import: Jul 22, 2003 [S119] New York State, Marriage Index, 1881-1967, Ancestry.com, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.;), New York State Department of Health; Albany, NY, USA; New York State Marriage Index. New York State, Marriage Index, 1881-1967 [S3876] New York State, Marriage Index, 1881-1967.