Dr. Westman was born in Boston, Massachusetts, October 4, 1911 and graduated from Everett, Massachusetts, High School in 1929. During World War II Carl Westman served as welding foreman in the United States Navy shipyard at Quonset Point, Rhode Island. Following the war he attended St. Lawrence University, Canton New York, earning both bachelor's and master's degrees in Divinity, graduating with honors and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. Dr. Westman was ordained in 1950 and served as pastor of Unitarian Universalist churches in Gloucester, Massachusetts; Bridgeport, Connecticut; Akron, Ohio; Rochester, New York; Plainfield, New Jersey and Lakeland and Port Charlotte, Florida. He was Minister Emeritus of the Lakeland Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.
Prior to moving to Florida in 1976, Dr. Westman served as Interdistrict Executive for the New York City area of the Unitarian Univeralist Association of America (UUA) and on the commission whose work led to merger of the Unitarian and Universalist churches. He was active in various other governing bodies of the UUA and of St. Lawrence University Theological School. In 1965, St. Lawrence University awarded Dr. Westman an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree. He retired from active ministry in 1986 but continued to conduct services and to preach from time to time, principally in southwest Florida. He continued to enjoy the arts and pursue his love of scholarship in various fields including rereading the complete works of William Shakespeare every year.