Obituary of LeRoy D. Westcott

LeRoy Dean "Wes" Westcott, passed away peacefully at his home on June 26, 2024, in Green Valley, Arizona. He was 88.

Wes was born on April 18, 1936, in Iowa City, Iowa, attended grade school there, and graduated from Iowa City High School in 1954. Soon after high school Wes served in the US Army. He was stationed in Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, where he learned to operate short wave radio. Following his military service, he married Patricia Sue Croskey. They had two daughters and were later divorced.

Wes embarked on a successful career in the paint and glass industry. Wes began as a manager at Gilpin Paint and Glass in Iowa City, where he worked from the early 1960s until 1974. Demonstrating his entrepreneurial spirit, Wes then established The Color Machine in Webster City, Iowa, a business he owned and operated until his retirement in 1999. After his retirement, Wes married Carol Long Dukeshier

Wes is survived by his wife, Carol Long Westcott; stepchildren Scott Robert Dukeshier (Celia), Todd Steven Dukeshier (Becky), Jill Ann Dukeshier, four step-grandsons; daughters, Tracy Lynn Westcott Bartlett (Gary) and Lisa Sue Westcott Schaa (Doug); grandchildren, Taylor Schaa Wilmoth (Michael) and Madison Nichole Schaa Onwuka (Ifeanyi); five great-grandchildren, and brothers, Robert K Westcott and Emory J Westcott. He was preceded in death by his parents, Melvin L Westcott and Mary Elizabeth Ashdown Westcott.

Wes had a lifelong interest in history, short wave radio and enjoyed the outdoors. Many a summer day you could find Wes on his boat waterskiing and soaking up the sun. While living in Springfield, Missouri, Wes was a volunteer ranger at Wilson’s Creek National Civil War Battlefield. In 2016, Wes and Carol moved to Arizona where Wes was a volunteer at Chiricahua National Monument, leading tours of Faraway Ranch.

A memorial service will be held at Gay and Ciha Funeral and Cremation Services in Iowa City, Iowa July 19th, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. Internment at Brick Chapel Cemetery, Scott Township, Johnson County Iowa.