Wesley Richard Besser passed peacefully at home with his adoring wife Beth and their two fur babies at his side. Their life together was a true love story between soulmates. Wes bravely lived with ALS for 2.5 years, living each day with the belief that a cure was possible. His positive mental attitude carried him through his ALS progression with hope, dignity and compassion. He was a true inspiration to all.

Life was a beautiful adventure for Wes. He loved traveling, volunteering as a marshal and walking scorer at dozens of USGA and PGA tournaments, visiting Disneyworld often, and discovering new places by choice or by happenstance with Beth. He was smart, kind, funny, generous and loving to all. Wes was a lifelong NY Jets and Mets fan, though he cheered the Red Sox. He loved cycling for fun and for good, having rode the PanMass Challenge for 8 years and raising over $21,000 for cancer research. Wes loved art, culture, history and especially food. Every journey concluded with good food and great champagne or wine. Wes was a man of science and participated in many important life-changing medical and clinical research studies.

He was an accomplished finance and accounting professional in the environmental services industry. In retirement, Wes enjoyed amateur acting and was an extra in many Boston-based big screen movies and local commercials. Together he and Beth traveled around New England collecting beautiful finds from local artists. He loved the theatre, the symphony, and was at peace sitting on the lawn at Tanglewood under the stars listening to classical music.

Wes was cherished by Beth’s family including Phyllis, Aliza, Paul, Shana, Greg, Judy, Layla, Josh, Noah, Arye, Natalie, and many friends he loved as family. He was the beloved son of the late Julius and Lillian Besser, brother of Roben Feist and uncle to Marcus.

A celebration of life will be announced in the future. In lieu of a Shiva, Beth invites visits from friends to share a story of how Wes touched their lives. Wes’s final request was an appeal to all to open your hearts, care for your neighbors, show respect to strangers and donate to organizations doing critical work including Compassionate Care ALS https://ccals.org, Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for Integrated ALS Care and Discovery at MassGeneralBrigham, PanMass Challenge https://profile.pmc.org/WB0073, Good Shepherd Community Care (gscommunitycare.org), and the Animal Rescue League of Boston https://www.arlboston.org