H. Martin Westfall

H. Martin Westfall of Powell, Ohio, passed away peacefully in his sleep on Tuesday, February 18, at the age of 90. Mr. Westfall was born in Latrobe, PA, on November 22, 1934, to Creed and Cecilia Westfall. The eldest of four children, Marty excelled at sports and academics and was awarded an academic scholarship to attend St. Vincent College. He met his beautiful wife of 69 years, Dorthea (“Dottie”) as a student at the college. Marty received his Bachelor of Science degree magna cum laude in 1956. He joined the firm of Coopers & Lybrand (then known as Lybrand Ross Brothers & Montgomery) in Pittsburgh later that year. Marty and his young family moved to the Columbus, Ohio, office in 1964. He was admitted as a partner in the firm in 1966. He became the managing partner of the firm in 1971 and subsequently a regional managing partner. The Columbus office became the largest accounting, tax and consulting firm in the city during his tenure and he was very proud of the prestigious companies that were clients of the firm.

In 1981, he and Dottie moved to Grosse Pointe Farms Michigan when he became the partner in charge of the Detroit Groups of Coopers & Lybrand which included Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Columbus, Indianapolis and Grand Rapids in addition to Detroit. In 1982, he was elected to the nine-member Executive Committee of the U.S. firm. At that time, he was also appointed Vice Chairman, a position he held for 10 years, in recognition of his highly skilled ability to generate new business with major multinational companies. He was responsible for all offices in the firm’s Central, Southern and West Coast regions. He was extremely proud to have worked personally with a number of high profile executives. In 1992, he assumed the position of U.S. Senior Managing Partner Europe residing in Geneva, Switzerland. In that role he was also instrumental in the expansion of the firm’s practices in Eastern Europe, Russia, India, Kuwait and Saudia Arabia. He and his wife Dottie enjoyed travelling throughout Europe with their Sheltand Sheepdog, Chelsea during their time in Switzerland. They also travelled extensively throughout Asia, India, the middle East and Australia. Marty and Dottie returned to Central Ohio in 1995 where they resided in Powell, Ohio. Marty retired in 1996 after 41 years with Coopers & Lybrand. Following his retirement, he was appointed to lead the negotiations to represent the retired C&L partners during the firm’s merger with Price Waterhouse now known as PwC. Marty and Dottie resided in Powell Ohio for 30 years until her passing in June 2023.

Marty served on the Board of Directors for St. Vincent College for 24 years and on the Visiting Committee for the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan for 14 years. Until his death, Marty also served on the Investment Committee for the Benedictine Monastery Society in Latrobe, PA. During his time in Ohio, Marty was a member of The Presidents Club of The Ohio State University and the Rotary Club of Columbus. In Michigan, Marty was very active in the Detroit Community and served on the Executive Committee of the Economic Club of Detroit, and the Board of Directors of the Detroit Opera and the Detroit Symphony.

Marty was an avid golfer and enjoyed being a member of Scioto Country Club, a founding member of Murfield Village Golf Club, the Golf Club in Ohio and the Rolling Rock Club in Ligonier, PA. He was a past member of The Country Club of Detroit, the Detroit Golf Club and Domaine Imperial in Glad Switzerland. He was also a past member of the Grosse Pointe Club and a member of the Columbus Athletic Club. He enjoyed the friendships he developed over the years, through the course of his numerous extracurricular and other eleemosynary endeavours.

Marty is survived by his four wonderful children: Martin H. (Diana), Kevin (Beth), Christopher (Maureen) and Laura Casey. He is proud of his children and their accomplishments and is likewise proud of his seven grandchildren: Kathleen, Madeleine and Nicholas Casey, Olivia, Henry and John “Jack” Westfall and Karsen Westfall who all knew him as Pop Pop. He is survived by his wife Terri Shane, who lovingly stood by his side and took care of him the last year and a half of his life, and her son Mark (John) Huffman. He is also survived by his brother David (Shirley) Westfall and his sister Maryann (Tom) Erdos. His brother Thomas predeceased him.

A private funeral Mass will take place at St. Vincent Basilica and internment at Mary, Mother of Mercy Mausoleum on the campus of the St Vincent Archabbey in Westmoreland County, PA. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Creed S. Westfall, C’32 Scholarship that Marty & Dottie Westfall established. Donations may be sent to Creed S. Westfall C’32 Scholarship c/o St Vincent College, 300 Fraser Purchase Road, Latrobe, PA 15650.