Page created by: Laurie Kramer

Bert Westman was born August 3, 1929 to the late Max and Bertha Westman. Sadly, Bertha died while giving birth to Bert; his father then married Bertha's sister, Celia and together they raised him and his older sister, Lorraine, and younger brother, Mort. A native New Yorker, he grew up in the Bronx and attended The Bronx High School of Science and the City College of New York. He married Marian (Mimi) Weiss in 1951 and they had two children: Laurie (Arthur Kramer) and Janie (the late Hector Aruj). Following his marriage to Mimi, Bert later married Mary Kramer and was a loving parent to Mary's children, Michael and Marcy. Bert had 7 grandchildren: Anne Rebecca Kramer, Ricardo Aruj, Ilexis (Lexi) Aruj, Carlie Conrad, Max Kramer, Anne Devin Kramer, and Sam Kramer. Bert served in the Korean War, stationed primarily in Europe.

While his career began as a "mad man," working in various New York advertising firms, Bert later returned to his first love, which was the art of decorative painting ("graining" and "marbling") that he learned from his father. Bert was a master in using paint to make virtually any surface look like wood and marble. He and his firm created gorgeous art on the walls and doorways of New York City apartments, churches and synagogues, and even tugboats on the Hudson. His work was showcased in design and architectural magazines.

Beyond his family, friends, and work, Bert loved comedy (he told too many really bad jokes), improvisational theatre, art museums, and the Mets.

Bert ended his more than 10 year battle with Parkinson's Disease on May 4, 2020. With his loving memory as our guide, we aim to support science to find a cure to this tragic disease.