Beloved husband of 70 years to Adrienne (Ziver) Woestendiek; loving father of Thomas (Pamela), Douglas Woestendiek and Jean (Dr. Anthony) Letai; dear grandfather of Katherine, Andrew, Abigail, Amanda, Julia and Jeffrey. Also survived by beloved nieces, nephews and their families. No prior visitation. A private Celebration of Life Service was held at the convenience of the family.
Born and raised on a farm in Saugerties, N.Y., he graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering in 1947 and a Master’s Degree in 1948. He served in World War II and was among the first troops to land on the Japanese mainland island of Kyushu in 1945 as part of the Fifth Marine Amphibian Corps.
During his career, Woestendiek pioneered efforts to eliminate pollution from electric smelting furnaces by using bag collectors. His first job was with Texaco in New York City, where he designed oil refinery structures and chemical processing equipment. He then became a project engineer in Niagara Falls, N.Y. for the ferroalloys division of Union Carbide. He supervised the design and construction of the first fully computer-controlled ferrosilicon furnace in the United States in Ashtabula, Ohio, as well as the first plant to purify tungsten powder with hydrogen gas in Niagara Falls, N.Y.
He later became Chief Design Engineer of the Union Carbide Metals Co. Corporate Engineering Dept., responsible for their worldwide facilities that mined and produced uranium, vanadium, tungsten, asbestos, coal, ferroalloys and calcium carbide.
He ended his career as a project manager for the New York State Dept. of Transportation. In this capacity, he was responsible for projects such as adding the third lane to the Kensington Expressway; a new Thruway interchange with William Street; the Main Street bridge in Salamanca; re-aligning Bailey Ave. below the Thruway; and widening Harlem Rd. in Cheektowaga. He was also on the DOT team approving plans for Buffalo’s Walden Galleria, demanding that the developer make major improvements to drainage problems around the mall.
Woestendiek was a life member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and a member of Chi Epsilon, the civil engineering honor society. A loyal Bills fan, he will long be remembered for his integrity, curiosity, and love of family.
Online condolences may be made at www.denglerrobertspernawilliamsville.com.
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