Mr. E. "Wes" Durstewitz Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

Wesley E. "Wes" Durstewitz Wesley E. Durstewitz, formerly of Schuylerville and Lake Pleasant, N.Y., died Monday, March 26, in Liberty, N.Y., at the age of 89. His death came 12 years to the day after that of his wife of 50 years, Adelaide "Addie" (Cutts) Durstewitz and exactly two months after the death of his friend of 70 years, Ralph Swenson of Accord, N.Y. The son of the late William and Hattie Durstewitz, Wes was born in Jersey City, N.J., in 1923 and grew up Wood Ridge, N.J. He assisted at his family's photo studio and graduated from high school in 1941. He attended Rutgers University for two years, majoring in pomology. He left school early in 1943 and joined the Navy, where he became a medical corpsman. He was attached to the First Marine Division in its island-hopping campaign against the Japanese, starting at Pavuvu and caring for the wounded from Peleliu to Okinawa. He was stationed in China in 1946 before being discharged as a decorated master sergeant. In 1947 he began an almost 40-year career in the merchant marine, securing a berth as purser (staff officer) on the freighter Drake Victory. In those mostly pre-container days, he sailed on various "break-bulk" cargo ships and passenger liners operated by American Export Lines and its successors including the S.S. Independence and S.S. Constitution. Among his many notable experiences during his working life were a storm that put his ship's deck at a 45-degree angle, being almost trampled by a hungry mob in India and being arrested by the Nasser regime in Alexandria, Egypt around the time of the Suez War. The latter episode, during which his camera was confiscated, caused him to give up photography while in foreign countries. He regularly visited ports in the Azores, Portugal, Spain, North Africa, Greece, Israel, Turkey, Iran and Italy in the Mediterranean area and Yokohama and Osaka in Japan. Known as "Dusty" to shipmates, he served as a seagoing bookkeeper, cargo superintendent, payroll supervisor, "slop-chest" merchant and ship's doctor, among other duties. He married the former Addie (Cutts) Couillard, a widow, in 1950 at "The Little Church Around the Corner" in Manhattan. In 1951, after the birth of their first child, he was called up by the military for service in the Korean War and sent to Camp LeJeune in North Carolina, taking his wife and infant son with him. He wrote a letter of protest to President Harry S Truman, and, although he never received a reply from the president, he ultimately was not sent overseas. After resuming his maritime career in1952, he moved his young family from Hasbrouck Heights, N.J., to Woodhaven, Queens, and from there to Malverne and Merrick, L.I., before moving to Schuylerville in 1981. In 2003, after his wife's death, he moved to the family's beloved camp in the Adirondacks and lived there for several years before declining health prompted him to move in with his daughter in South Fallsburg, N.Y. Wherever he lived during his later years, he was known for his long daily constitutionals dressed in a sweat suit, using a walking stick and wearing a blue "watch cap." He is survived by three children, Jeff Durstewitz (and his wife, Teri Blasko) and James Durstewitz, all of Saratoga Springs and Debra Durstewitz of South Fallsburg; his third son, Keith, died in infancy in 1954. He is also survived by a sister, Clara Dauber, and brother-in-law, Harold Dauber, of North Carolina (another sister, Helen Barclay, predeceased him); two grandchildren, David V. Durstewitz of Chicago and Emily J. Durstewitz of Saratoga Springs; numerous cousins, nephews and nieces; and his beloved cat, Dutchess. Services will be held on Monday April 2, 2012 at 11:00 am at the Tunison Funeral Home 105 Lake Ave. Saratoga Springs, NY 12866. Family and friends may call from 2-4 and 6-8 on Sunday at the funeral home. Interment will be at the Gerald B.H. Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery in Schuylerville with military honors. Contributions in Wes's name may be made to the Adirondack Council (www.adirondackcouncil.org).

Mr. E. "Wes" Durstewitz

March 26, 2012

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