By DORIS COOK - Staff Writer
Star Beacon
February 20, 2008 07:36 pm
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JEFFERSON — The late Bernard D. “Tim” Westfall’s professional career as a land surveyor took him from New York state to Ashtabula County and several other Eastern states for more than 40 years.
Westfall was honored posthumously Feb. 10 at the annual conference of the Professional Land Surveyors of Ohio (PLSO), held in Cleveland.
He was nominated for the special award for his years of accomplishments in the field and training future surveyors, said Ashtabula County Engineer Tim Martin.
A special plaque given to Westfall’s family, who attended the two-day conference, soon will hang in the foyer at the county engineer’s office on East Satin Street in Jefferson. Martin accepted the large plaque Wednesday afternoon from Westfall’s children, sons Eric and Andy Westfall and Autumn Westfall Snyder.
Westfall was born in 1936 in Rushford, N.Y. During the Korean War, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and trained in the 508th Airborne as a paratrooper. After overseas duty, he returned to graduate from Rushford Central High School. He later re-enlisted with the 11th Army Airborne, serving in Augsburg, Germany.
In 1958, Westfall began his career as an instrument and rodman for the Hornell Construction Co. in Hornell, New York. The initial work consisted of staking streets, sewers and sidewalks in his hometown of Rushford.
Through the early 1960s, Westfall worked as a civilian employee with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Buffalo, N.Y. He worked on hydrographic surveys of harbors, details for flood control projects and other related projects in New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio.
Moving to Jefferson in 1966 with his family, Westfall began work assignments for the Ashtabula County Engineer’s Office. His bosses included former county engineers David L. Weir and John W. Smolen. He also worked for Thomas L. Gromley and Associates in 1973.
Completing his training, Westfall earned his professional surveyor license in 1979 and started A’Terra Co. Surveying. His work involved interesting local projects, including the mapping of accident scenes, rehabilitation of the historic Ashtabula Harbor bascule lift bridge and replacement of the Conrail rotary car dumper, also in the Ashtabula Harbor district.
A number of new surveyors learned about proper research, field procedures, boundary resolution and drafting under Westfall’s direction and supervision, according to records from the Ashtabula, Lake and Geauga county PLSO chapter, of which Westfall was a founding member.
He also served as president of the PLSO Mahoning Valley chapter before forming the tricounty chapter. Westfall’s son Eric has continued the family land surveying business, based in Jefferson. The elder Westfall retired in 1995 and enjoyed traveling during his retirement.
Before his death in 2006, Westfall was active over the years in Jefferson community organizations, including the Jefferson Emergency Rescue District. He was a member of the Disabled American Veterans chapter in the county, Jefferson Rotary Club and was past recipient of the Paul Fuller Fellowship Award.
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