Larry Westrich, Drury senior VP, remembered as devoted family man

Larry Westrich, described as a devoted husband and father by his family and co-workers, died of a heart attack July 23. His family said he passed away during his daily bike ride, a passion he pursued, just as he lived, by the motto: "Dream as if you will live forever but live as if you will die tomorrow". He was 61 years old.

Born April 15, 1962, Westrich was a lifelong resident of Cape Girardeau. He was a graduate of Notre Dame Regional High School and received a Bachelor of Science in administration with a major in accounting from Southeast Missouri State University.

Westrich worked 45 years for hotels and companies owned by the Drury family.

Kevin Whitfield, president of Drury Southwest, said Westrich started out, at 16 years old, as a dishwasher at the Drury owned Ramada Inn. He said Westrich worked his way through school as a night auditor then became internal auditor for Drury hotels before moving over to Drury Southwest where he worked his way up to senior vice president of Real Estate and Development.

Whitfield described Westrich as a "wonderful man" who will be "greatly missed" at the company.

"I worked with him for 40 years and I don't think I heard him raise his voice to anyone during that time," Whitfield said. "He was absolutely beloved by his team, by those who worked with him. He always put everybody else first, which was remarkable in today's world."

Adrienne Henry, Real Estate Leasing and Development manager at Drury Southwest, said Westrich was her mentor. She said he was "fantastic" and "one of the best humans you would ever meet."

"He always had a smile, literally, every day he came to work with a smile," Henry said. "He was really encouraging, he checked in with people, actually connected with them, just a really great guy."

Westrich's wife, Stephanie, said they met when they were both just out of college and she moved into the house across the street. She said for him it was love at first sight, but for her "it took a little while."

She said he traveled a lot for work so they didn't have as much time together as she would have liked. However, after two years of dating, broken up by work trips, Stephanie Westrich said she decided to move back in with her parents.

"Larry wanted to get married, but I just couldn't commit," she said. "But when I moved out of that house, when I wasn't right across the street from him, I knew that I had to go back."

The Westriches were married Sept. 26, 1987, and had two daughters, Kaci and Jessica, and two sons, Austin and Connor. His children described Westrich as a good father "who was always there when you needed him."

"He'd do anything for his kids, but he'd make you work for it," Austin Westrich said. "He wanted to instill these life lessons, and he wouldn't just hand you anything, he made you work for it. But, you know, as we've grown up, we've realized those life lessons are invaluable now."

Westrich liked to give lectures and was a big fan of motivational quotes, his family said, and they even put together a book of his favorites, such as "Make someone else's world better today", "Evil flourishes when good men do nothing" and "When you make a mistake, make amends immediately — warm crow goes down easier".

His wife said Westrich loved his two grandchildren, Cooper and Tommy, with a third on the way. She said, "they were his whole world," and they called him "Pawpaw."

"He would drop anything to see those boys," Stephanie Westrich said. "When Larry was having a bad day, he started talking about his kids or his grandkids and he would just start beaming with smiles. He was so proud of all of his kids and those grandbabies."

One of the family's favorite stories about Larry Westrich is how he saved his own father's life. Late one night, Jerome Westrich, who was in his early 50s, had a heart attack. Larry Westrich was only in seventh grade but performed CPR on his father, saving his life.

Stephanie Westrich said that the next morning, Larry, still full of adrenaline, had the best basketball game of his life, scoring 16 points, "which was pretty good for Larry."

She said her husband was a "very kind" man. She said he didn't like change, he liked schedules and routine. He was proud of working "very, very hard," for Drury, but he never brought his work home. He didn't sleep much. He was a fan of the Dallas Cowboys and the University of Notre Dame's "Fighting Irish". He liked strong whiskey and was strong in his Catholic faith. He was a "homebody" and liked his quiet. He instilled "a lot of good values" in his children.

His children said they were proud of their father, that he was supportive and made them feel like they could do anything. They said he was the "best teacher" and were thankful for each lesson he taught them.

When Westrich was in his early 50s, he had to have his hips replaced. His wife said he was an avid runner but, after the surgery, the doctors told him he needed to switch to riding a bicycle or take up swimming.

Westrich chose cycling, and his wife said, like everything else in his life, he pushed himself to the limit.

"He loved doing these double century rides, where you ride 100 miles on Saturday and 100 miles on Sunday," Stephanie Westrich said. "He did the one in St. Louis every year for Multiple Sclerosis, and he was training to do that again in September."

The week before he died, Westrich was on vacation with his family at Lake Michigan. His children said he was "so relaxed" as he built sand castles with his grandchildren who got to bury their "Pawpaw" in the sand.

"He was just so happy," Stephanie Westrich said. "He got to drink his whiskey at night and just relax by the fire and take a nap on the beach."

A visitation and recitation of the rosary was held Sunday, July 30, at St. Mary Cathedral School. A funeral Mass was held Monday, July 31, at St. Mary's Cathedral in Cape Girardeau, with the Rev. Randy Tochtrop officiating, with burial at St. Mary's Cemetery in Cape Girardeau.