Ralph Anton Westwig

Ralph Anton Westwig of Ithaca, New York died January 25, 2025 at the age of 88.  He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Erna Arnold Westwig, their children Karen W Sommers (Bob) of Boston, MA and Erik A Westwig (Karen Trible) of Ithaca, NY and six grandchildren John Westwig, Olivia Sommers, Mark Westwig, Bobby Sommers, Anna Westwig, and Kendall Sommers. He also leaves behind his brother Harold Westwig (Janis) of Westbrook, ME and many extended family and dear friends.

Born May 15th, 1936, in South Portland, Maine, Ralph was the proud Norwegian-American son of Anton Westwig and Olga Jenssen. He attended Bowdoin college on a full scholarship where he studied physics and mathematics, graduating cum laude in 1958. After working on the proton synchrotron project at Princeton University, he obtained a graduate degree in physics from Cornell University in 1964 where he also received an award for teaching excellence.  He spent most of his professional career as a research scientist with Corning Incorporated in Corning, New York.  There he was responsible for the development of many inventions and patents, all based around novel applications of glass technology.

He was a skier, a scuba-diver, a sailor, a storyteller, and a stargazer.

Ralph was an inveterate collector… of everything. He loved maps and knots and clocks and old radios.  He carefully amassed books and magazines which he read eagerly and annotated exhaustively, always with perfect handwriting.  Rarely was a visit to his home not met with a stack of carefully curated articles from his archives that referenced some previous topic of conversation.  As he watched his children and grandchildren grow, he always strove to educate himself in their various pursuits: art, basketball, brewing, crosswords, languages, mushrooms, photography, and robotics among countless others.

Ralph – also known variously as Dad, Captain Dad, and The Gramps – affected us all with his integrity, his humor, and his deep commitment to learning.  He was profoundly loved by his wife Erna as well as his children and grandchildren.  He will be sorely missed.

Ralph’s family will be hosting a celebration of life in Ithaca this summer. If you’d like to honor Ralph’s memory and help his family pay it forward, please consider a donation to Bowdoin College which had a life changing impact on him. Gifts to the Class of 1958 Scholarship Fund in memory of Ralph Westwig can be made to Bowdoin College, Development & Alumni Relations, 4100 College Station, Brunswick, ME 04011 or on-line In memory of Ralph A. Westwig '58 | Bowdoin College  Please include a note that the gift is in memory of Ralph Westwig.