Michael West, Jr., age 93, passed away on October 7, 2019 at Belmont Village in Thousand Oaks, California. He was born on October 9, 1925 in Washington, Pennsylvania to Lena West and Michael West, Sr. Michael was married to Dee West as a young man and then to Virginia West in November, 1962 until the time of her passing 50 years later.
Michael eagerly enlisted in the United States Marine Corps at the age of 17 after seeing the patriotic film Wake Island with his brother, postponing his last 2 years of high school while serving from November, 1942 until his honorable discharge in October, 1945. In World War II, Michael landed in either the 1st or 2nd wave of the beach battles in Roi-Namur, Saipan, and Iwo Jima.
In 1952, he began his career in the finance industry at CIT Credit Corp in Pennsylvania where he hired Bob Hamilton in 1962, his then-to-be friend of 57 years. When Bob was forming Los Robles Bank in Thousand Oaks in 1987, Mike simply said "When do I start?" when asked to work at the bank with no concern for title or salary. He aptly became Vice President of Business Development. He truly had an amazing way with people, making them feel better about themselves than before they met him.
Michael is survived by his daughter Cindy, his stepdaughter Judy and husband Bill, his sister Peggy, his granddaughter Lisa and husband Ken, his granddaughter Pamela and husband Kevin, his granddaughter Trisha, his honorary grandson Rory, and his great-grandchildren Michael and wife Jessel, Connor, Jack, Megan, and Dan. He was predeceased by his loving wife Virginia on December 29, 2012 and his brother Donald, surviving wife Marilyn, on July 7, 2019.
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