Obituary of John Arthur Weaver

Jack Weaver, age 76, of Meadowbrook, PA, passed away on Dec. 11, 2013, after an eight week battle with bile duct cancer. He is survived by his wife of 48 years, Linda (nee Hollinger) and daughter Sonya (Judith Harrison) of Belmont, ME. A second daughter, Sara, succumbed to leukemia 11 years ago. He is also survived by his brother James Weaver (Karen), and nieces and nephews. Born in Philadelphia to schoolteachers James and Harriett Weaver, as a boy he spent his summers in the country at the family homestead farm in Clearfield County. He and his family continued to enjoy vacations there each year until his death. A chemical engineer, he spent the major part of his career with Rohm and Haas Company, starting in research in 1969 and retiring in 1990 as Vice President for Environmental, Health and Safety, and Engineering. He subsequently worked in the New York office of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers for eight years. Always interested in social justice, he joined Esperanza, Inc. and became dean of Esperanza College of Eastern University. He served on the boards of the non-profits Metropolitan Career Center, Taller Puertorriqueno, Lutheran Settlement House and Cantus Novus. A longtime member of Advent Lutheran Church in Richboro, PA, he served in many capacities there over the years. Jack was a man of wide-ranging interests, an ardent lover of music, nature, animals, and travel. He shared his love of travel with his wife and daughters, taking them on trips to Europe, Central America, around the U.S. and Canada. With his wife Linda he sang in VOICES Chorale and enjoyed several tours to Germany with the chorus. He was fluent in German, having spent a year at the University of Muenster on a Fulbright travel grant before obtaining his Ph.D. at the University of Delaware in 1965. He sang in the chamber chorus Cantus Novus, of which he was president. Jack loved gardens and parks and enjoyed frequent visits to Longwood Gardens, Chanticleer and the Morris Arboretum. He was an avid gardener himself and took great pleasure in his vegetable garden. Animals, birds and wildlife were very important to him and he supported many environmental causes. After retirement, Jack volunteered his time as a science presenter at the Franklin Institute and a docent at the Philadelphia Zoo. A memorial service will be held at 7:30 pm on Sunday, Dec. 15, at Advent Lutheran Church, Second St. Pike (Rt. 232) and Worthington Mill Rd., Richboro, PA, where friends will be received from 6:30 pm until the time of the service and at a reception after the service. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to The Nature Conservancy, Gift Planning, 4245 North Fairfax Dr., Suite 100, Arlington, Virginia 22203-1606, or to Advent Lutheran Church, address above.