Dirck E. Westervelt, a retired psychiatric social worker who worked for years counseling at-risk youth, died March 18 in Brewster, MA. The cause was complications of congestive heart failure. He was 75.
Mr. Westervelt was born in Schenectady, NY and had been a longtime resident of New York’s Hudson River Valley before moving to Cape Cod in 2014. He worked for more than two decades for New York State’s Office of Mental Health specializing in the treatment of adolescents, including incarcerated youth and young adults. He also volunteered for years as a counselor for Vietnam veterans.
A 1962 graduate of Wesleyan University with a B.A. in history, Dirck always encouraged intellectual and geographic exploration. He had a lifelong passion for the history, culture, art and architecture of the Middle East, and attended the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies.
As part of that graduate program, he moved his young family to Saudi Arabia for a year to study in an Islamic culture. That was when goats still roamed the dusty streets of Riyadh, before the oil boom. He once hitchhiked to Rome to see the Pope installed, and traveled widely throughout his life, including to the Middle East, Asia, North Africa, Central America and Europe.
Dirck later earned an MSW from Hunter College in New York and began his social work career. This interest grew out of his early commitment to civil rights and social justice which started as a participant in a lunch counter sit-in the Deep South as a college student.
Dirck grew up camping, canoeing and fishing in upstate New York, particularly the Adirondack Mountains. That instilled in him a love of the outdoors that he passed on to his three children. He rafted whitewater rivers in New England and across the West including the Grand Canyon. In addition to Cape Cod his other passions included collecting Asian and Middle Eastern art, cabochons and exotic knives; sailing; gourmet food and ice cream.
He is survived by his children: Lisa Westervelt of Provincetown, MA; Gerrit Westervelt of Denver, CO; Eric Westervelt of Berkeley, CA; his sister Deidre Westervelt of Savannah, GA, as well as grandchildren: Aidan, Evan, Olivia, Zuzu and former spouse Joanne Westervelt of Schenectady, NY.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions in any amount be made in his name to Doctors Without Borders [donate.doctorswithoutborders.org/tribute.cfm] or to the Sierra Club [sierraclub.org/giving/commemorative-gifts].
A private family burial will take place at Vale Cemetery in Schenectady, NY. A memorial celebration of his life is planned for early summer on Cape Cod.