Obituary of James Westbrook

James "Ed" Westbrook, 74, of Mt. Pocono, died Wednesday, December 13 at home. He was the husband of Beverly (Waite) Westbrook, to whom he was married for 23 years. Born in Chester, South Carolina, he was the son of the late Dewey A. Ferguson and Mattie Mae Westbrook. After his employment as a chef at New York and New Jersey restaurants, "Ed" moved to the Poconos in 1980. He was employed at several restaurants in the area, including Al Mars Effort Village Inn, the Pine Knob Inn, Water Gap Country Club, and the Galley Restaurant. He retired in 1996 and enjoyed fishing and spending time with his family, especially his daughter, Vanessa, the apple of his eye. In addition to his wife, Beverly, he was the loving father of three children, Vanessa Westbrook of Mt. Pocono, Tracie Hairston and her husband, Farley of Newark, New Jersey; and Manuel Drones and his wife, Dottie of Allentown. He is also survived by two brothers, Dewey A. Ferguson, Jr. of Piscataway, New Jersey, Lanuel Ferguson of New Jersey; brother-in-law, Stephen Waite of Winona Lakes; mother-in-law, Alladean Waite of Bartonsville; several grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by two brothers, Jack and Robert Westbrook and a daughter, Sandra Drones. The Reverend Tom Daniels will conduct a funeral service at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, December 19 at the Bolock Funeral Home, corner of routes 940 & 390 in Paradise Valley. Cremation will follow at the Bolock Funeral Home Crematory. There will be a viewing at the funeral home from 9:30 a.m. until the time of service. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Equi-Librium, Inc, PO Box 305, Sciota, Pa. 18354