Geraldine "Gerri" Marie Westlund

WAYLAND, MA – Geraldine (Gerri) Marie Westlund, age 87, passed away Sunday, August 20, 2023, at The Residence at Paine Estate in Wayland, MA. She died peacefully, surrounded by her family, after a brief series of medical complications.

Gerri was born March 19, 1936, in Monticello, IA to Frederick and Ella (Ehlts) Zumbrunnen. She grew up on a farm near Coggon, IA and graduated from Coggon High School in 1954. After high school she enrolled in Wartburg College in Waverly, IA, graduating two years later with a teaching degree. Gerri moved to Minnesota and began teaching, a life-long passion. Along the way she returned to college, receiving a bachelor's degree from Macalester College and then later a master’s degree in special education from the University of St. Thomas, both in St. Paul, MN. She touched many lives through her chosen career path.

Equally passionate about music, Gerri’s beautiful soprano voice could be heard in church solos, church choirs, concert choirs, show choirs, weddings, funerals, and in the family home. She was also a choir director for many years at St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church in White Bear Lake, MN. She loved to sing.

Gerri’s greatest love was her family. She married Edward (Ed) Westlund on June 6, 1959, in Minnesota. They had two daughters, Bethany and Kirsten. Gerri and Ed were married almost 39 years when Ed passed away too soon in 1998. She never remarried.

After retirement, Gerri enjoyed splitting her time between MN and N. Fort Myers, FL. She sang, lovingly tended to her flowers, and spent countless hours volunteering for ECHO, a nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing hunger. Many Christmas holidays were spent joyously on Sanibel Island surrounded by family. In 2022 she moved to the Boston area to be near her daughter.

Gerri is survived by her sister, Arlene Wilson of Des Moines, IA; sister, Wanita Zumbrunnen of St. Louis, MO; brother, Glenn Zumbrunnen of Phoenix, AZ; daughter, Bethany Westlund and her husband Alan Cantor of Boston, MA; daughter, Kirsten Westlund and her fiancé Larry Stephens of Orlando, FL; granddaughters Erin Cantor, Julia Cantor, Emily Cogen, and Theresa Cogen, as well as many nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.

We miss and celebrate Gerri’s wonderful smile, her zest for life, and the kindness she showed to others. She loved and was loved dearly.