Obituaries

John Weiman (Veteran)

John R. Weiman, 83, died on June 28, 2010, in Weldon Springs, Missouri. He was born on Sept. 30, 1926, in West Frankfort, Illinois. John joined the U.S. Army shortly after graduating from high school in Frankfort, Ill. He served and saw combat during World War II and the Korean War with the Second Infantry Division, earning several awards for his service to the United States. During his military career, he served as an Army Recruiter and worked with missile defense systems in Alaska and other locations before retiring as a Chief Warrant Officer 3 (CWO3). John returned to the St. Louis area and his subsequent career at McDonnell Douglas included work on multiple defense contracts and critical path analysis. Always a sports fan, John coached various youth sports over the years. Following retirement, he and his wife Barbara built a home at the Lake of the Ozarks where they enjoyed a relaxed life and John worked part-time as a disc jockey at a local radio station. Barb passed away in 1994. In October 1995, John married Dolores Lehmen Prost, after which he moved from the Lake of the Ozarks area to Jefferson City. They had met in a Hospice support group after they each lost their spouse to cancer. John became active at St. Joseph's Cathedral, serving as lector and making good use of his radio broadcaster skills. Golfing, feeding the birds, fishing, and traveling with Dolores became his passions. Together they traveled from China to Portugal and nearly everywhere in between during their 10 year marriage. Dolores died in March 2006. John had a magic ability with children and animals. He could "call" a hummingbird in such a way that it would land on his cap, and he could nurse sick animals back to health. Children fell asleep in his arms. In 2001, Dolores convinced John to try volunteering at The Special Learning Center program for children with developmental delays and disabilities; he loved it and "rocked babies" there until he moved to St. Louis in late 2007 to be nearer his own children. In January 2008, when he discovered that St. Mary's Preschool, located just a block from his apartment, operated a similar program and he began volunteering there with youngsters under age two. Soon "Mr. John" was volunteering four days a week. He calculated once that he rocked an average of six babies a day, four days a week, 52 weeks a year. And because he volunteered for two years before his health declined, that totals to 2,500 baby rockings! John always said that he got more out of this volunteer work than he gave. His rule was that he would not put a child off his lap until the child wanted to leave or had fallen asleep on his lap, even if that meant other kids had to wait to be rocked. He loved each of the babies and they all responded to his genuine caring. John liked to laugh and have fun, and he was teasing others up until shortly before his death. He will be missed by family and friends, and by the special young children to whom he brought so much comfort. He was the husband of the late Dolores Prost Weiman and Barbara Harms Weiman. John was the dear father of Dan (Marsha) Weiman, Vickie (Jim) Ahlgren, Rick (Gloria) Weiman and Rob (Tina) Weiman; stepfather of Barb's children Chris (Calvin) Nevels, Chuck (Mary Kay) Harms, Cindy (Ted) Clark, Colleen (John) Phegley and David (Robin) Harms; and stepfather of Dolores' children Joetta Prost, Evan (Claire Garden) Prost, Warren (Debbie) Prost. He had 25 grandchildren and was great-grandfather of three. Funeral service will be at the SCHRADER Funeral Home and Crematory, 14960 Manchester Road at Holloway, Ballwin, Saturday at 10:00 a.m. Interment will be in Sunset Memorial Park. A Memorial Mass in Jefferson City is planned for later this summer. If desired, contributions may be made to AmVets Post #1, 2482 Marshall Rd., Kirkwood, MO 63122-6706 or Patriot Guard Rider, Inc. c/o Jon Tatum, 2124 Peoria Ave., Tulsa, OK 74114. Visitation Friday 4-8 p.m. Friends may sign the family's on-line guestbook at Schrader.com.

Published July 1, 2010