{{short description|American politician}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = George "Buzz" Westfall | image = | caption = | order = 6th County Executive of St. Louis County | term_start = January 1, 1991 | term_end = October 14, 2003 | predecessor = H. C. Milford | successor = Charlie Dooley | birth_date = {{birth date|1944|03|19|mf=y}} | birth_place = St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2003|10|27|1944|03|19}} | death_place = St. Louis County, Missouri, U.S. | death_cause = Staph meningitis | constituency = | party = Democratic | spouse = Laurie Westfall | children = | profession = | signature = | footnotes = }}
'''George "Buzz" Westfall''' (March 19, 1944 – October 27, 2003) was an American lawyer and politician. He served in the elected offices of Prosecuting Attorney (1978–1990) and County Executive (1991–2003) of St. Louis County, Missouri. He died, while in office, of ''Staphylococcus aureus'' meningitis at the age of 59.
Westfall grew up in public housing in St. Louis. He attended St. Louis University High School and graduated from Saint Louis University with his BA and JD degrees. After completing law school, he took a position in the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney's office as an assistant prosecutor. In 1978, Westfall was elected as head Prosecuting Attorney for St. Louis County. Westfall was re-elected in 1982 and 1986 without opposition.
In 1990, Westfall was the Democratic nominee for the County Executive's position, and he defeated incumbent H.C. Milford in his bid for re-election. Westfall was re-elected County Executive in 1994, 1998, and 2002. In October 2003, less than a year into his fourth term in office, Westfall died after developing a meningitis staph infection.<ref name="died">{{cite news |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2003/10/27/daily18.html |title=St. Louis County Executive 'Buzz' Westfall dies at 59 |date=2003-10-28 |publisher=St. Louis Business Journal |accessdate=2008-08-29}}</ref> Westfall was survived by his wife and three grown children.
Following Westfall's death, his friends and family established a charitable enterprise, the Buzz Westfall Memorial Fund, in his honor. The Memorial Fund, later renamed The Buzz Westfall Charitable Foundation, was a non-profit enterprise established to further Westfall's legacy of bettering the community through charitable works. The Foundation raised funds via an annual golf tournament, among other various events, with proceeds going directly to various charities.
Westfall Lane, a street in Jennings, Missouri, was dedicated to the memory of Mr. Westfall in early 2004.{{Citation needed|date=April 2007}} In 2006, the Buzz Westfall Plaza On The Boulevard opened for business, anchored by a new Schnucks supermarket and Target, on the site of the deteriorating Northland Shopping Center in Jennings.<ref name="plaza">{{cite news |url=http://www.stlamerican.com/business/local_business/article_88df8189-d278-5cbd-9b39-db98c41f341a.html |title=Target opens in former Northland Shopping Center |date=2006-10-12 |publisher=St. Louis American |accessdate=2014-03-19}}</ref> Other memorials include the Buzz Westfall Justice Center in Clayton, Missouri,<ref>Fernandez, Manny, and John Eligon, [https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/16/us/suspect-arrested-in-shooting-of-2-officers-in-ferguson-police-say.html "Man, 20, Is Arrested in the Shooting of 2 Officers in Ferguson"], New York ''Times'', March 15, 2015. Justice Center mentioned in passing. Retrieved 2015-03-16.</ref> and the Buzz Westfall Memorial Highway, a portion of Highway 364 in St. Louis County.
Westfall served a total of 35 years in St. Louis County government, including 24 years in elected office.
==References== {{reflist}} {{refbegin}} {{refend}}
== See also == *[http://www.slu.edu/readstory/more/3435 St. Louis University press release upon giving an award to Westfall - include biographical information] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20041221000837/http://kwmu.org/Programs/Commentaries/commentary.php?cid=253 Commentary by Gene McNary after Westfall's death]
{{s-start}} {{s-off}} {{s-bef|before=H. C. Milford}} {{s-ttl|title=County Executive of St. Louis County |years=1991–2003}} {{s-aft|after=Charlie Dooley}} {{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Westfall, Buzz}} Category:Politicians from St. Louis Category:1944 births Category:2003 deaths Category:Deaths from staphylococcal infection Category:County executives of St. Louis County, Missouri Category:Infectious disease deaths in Missouri Category:Neurological disease deaths in Missouri Category:Lawyers from St. Louis Category:Deaths from meningitis in the United States Category:20th-century American lawyers Category:20th-century Missouri politicians