Richard J West

Male17 November 1935–10 November 1944

Brief Life History of Richard J

When Richard J West was born on 17 November 1935, in Washington, United States, his father, Lester Brewster West, was 40 and his mother, Hazel Belle Hill, was 32. He lived in Spokane, Spokane, Washington, United States in 1935 and Judicial Township 2, San Mateo, California, United States in 1940. He died on 10 November 1944, in San Mateo, Comarapa, Manuel María Caballero, Santa Cruz, Bolivia, at the age of 8.

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Family Time Line

Lester Brewster West
1895–1951
Hazel Belle Hill
1902–1989
Richard J West
1935–1944

Sources (7)

  • Richard West in household of Lester West, "United States Census, 1940"
  • Legacy NFS Source: Richard West - Government record: birth-name: Richard West
  • California, Death Index, 1940-1997

Parents and Siblings

Siblings (1)

World Events (5)

1937 · The Neutrality Act

Age 2

The Neutrality Acts were passed in response to the growing conflicts in Europe and Asia during the time leading up to World War II. The primary purpose was so the US wouldn't engage in any more foreign conflicts. Most of the Acts were repealed in 1941 when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.

1940

Age 5

Galloping Gertie is the reference used to describe the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. It opened on July 1, 1940 four months later it no longer existed. On November 7, 1940 the wind gusts came up to 40 miles an hour causing the bridge to twist and vibrate violently before it collapsed into Puget Sound. The only victim of the bridge collapsing was a three-legged paralyzed dog named Tubby whose owner tried to rescue him from the car but he wouldn’t go with him.

1941

Age 6

Japanese attack Pearl Harbor.

Name Meaning

English and German: from Middle English, Middle High German west ‘west’, hence a topographic name for someone who lived to the west of a settlement, or a habitational name for someone who had migrated from further west.

Americanized form of Finnish Vesterinen: from the personal name Vesteri (a short form of Sylvester ) + the surname suffix -nen.

History: This name was brought to North America independently by many bearers in the 17th and 18th centuries. Thomas West, 12th Baron De La Warre, was captain general of Virginia in 1610–11. The state of DE is named for him. One of the earliest permanent settlers was Francis West (1606–92), who came to Duxbury, MA, from Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, in or before 1638.

Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.

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