Richard "Dick" Weaver

Richard C. “Dick” Weaver aged 92 of Scottville passed away on October 16, 2020. He will be greatly missed by his wife of 67 years Marie, his daughter Melanie (Kevin), and his grandsons Nicholas (Kelli) and Nathaniel. He was preceded in death by his eight brothers Ken, Bob Dale, Dean, Sylvester, Rexford, Willard (called Bill), Virgil (called Birdie), and Carroll, and four sisters Esther, Inamae, Alice, and Alphonsine (called Alfie), and by his mother Alma Luretta Price and his father Clyde Dell. Born at home in Buchanan, Michigan in 1928, Dick spent his growing-up years in Niles, Michigan and South Bend, Indiana. Over the years, he shared childhood memories of good-old-fashioned antics that might make today’s parents gasp: hopping moving trains to get where they wanted to go, swinging out over the river on vines, pulling each other behind a car on skis, and sleeping on the roof in summertime. Money was very tight, and his dad made the boys pick berries to sell and give him all the money toward the family’s expenses. Dick confided years later that the boys did occasionally sneak away a few pennies for candy or toys. Dick and his beloved brother Ken, just 15 months older than he, graduated from South Bend Riley High School one year apart and eventually went off to college at Ball State. This was after a failed attempt at Western Michigan University, followed by a summer of “Operation Lake” devoted to spending time at the beach trying to meet girls, and a job in a candy factory--the latter of which convinced him he’d better get a college degree after all. Dick graduated from Ball State University with a degree in education and earned a Master’s Degree in Education from the University of Michigan. He taught high school in Centerville and Flat Rock, Michigan. In an unusual career move, he went straight from teaching to being superintendent of schools, first at Maple Grove, then Bridgman, and the final 19 ½ years of his career at Mason County Central in Scottville, Michigan, a town he loved and called home for 53 years. As superintendent of schools, a complex role with difficult decisions to make, his guiding principle was to “always do what is best for the kids.” It would be an understatement to say that Dick loved football. He played all four years at South Bend Riley High School and two years at Ball State. His favorite team to watch was his grandson Nick’s high school team, on which Nick played left tackle, followed by Michigan and Notre Dame. For years, he had a pen that played the Michigan Fight Song, and his good luck move was to play that pen after every Michigan touchdown. While at Ball State, Dick lived off campus but found that the most inexpensive and easiest way to get fed was at the college cafeteria. It didn’t take him long to notice a good-looking cashier named Marie and ask her if she played tennis. To this handsome fellow she had had her eye on, she quickly said “Of course!” and they made their first date on the tennis court. Although Marie was promptly found out to be a fibber, having never played tennis in her life, they hit it off, continued to date, and were married on March 19, 1953 in LaPorte, Indiana. During and beyond his long career in public education, Dick believed that giving back was an important part of life. He served on the Mason County Library Board (including time as chair), as chair of the Legislative Committee of Michigan Association of Retired School Personnel, chair of the Mason County Area Council on Aging, the Scottville United Methodist Church board, the Optimist Club (including time as president), and the Mason County Historical Society (including time as chair). In short, he was a giver and a leader and left a legacy of both in the communities and organizations he served. He and Marie felt so lucky to have been able to share a long and vibrant retirement, spending beautiful summers & autumns in Michigan and winters & springs in their condo in Sarasota Florida. They took several “trips of lifetime,” including a summer in England with visits to his Marie’s family members who still reside there, a cruise through the Panama Canal, and a multi-country European tour. Dick’s favorite roles may have been those of Dad and Grandpa. Dick’s friends and acquaintances, and even the guy sitting next to him on a plane, knew without a doubt how proud he was of his daughter Melanie, who excelled in academics and as a track athlete at Mason County Central and the University of Michigan, and who now works as Chief Executive Education Officer at Michigan’s Ross School of Business. He delighted in his two grandsons Nick and Nate from their infancy to their adulthood, engaging in silly made-up games, going on summer vacations, and cheering them on in soccer, football, wrestling, getting good grades, and as they started their careers in civil engineering and the wellness industry, respectively. Dick loved to read, and instilled that habit in his daughter and grandsons. He taught them all to play pinochle and shuffleboard, and they enjoyed many hours of fun together in these games. Dick was known for almost constantly singing, humming, or whistling a tune, for being quick to smile and wink, and for being kind and uplifting to everyone he met. He was also ‘famous’ for his silly sayings. His family members will forever smile and think of him as they find themselves remarking at the appropriate times, “I’ll be ready in two shakes of a dead dog’s tail” or “They were off in a hail of hen-feathers.” Funeral services will be held for Dick at 11:00 am on Wednesday, October 28 at the Scottville United Methodist Church with his pastor, Rev. Rick Hodgeson officiating. Burial will take place at Brookside Cemetery in Scottville. Friends may meet with Dick’s family on Wednesday morning from 10:00 am until time of services at the church. Following the COVID-19 mandates, masks are required inside the church if you are able, and social distancing protocols will be followed. Those who would like to remember Dick with a memorial donation are asked to please consider either the Scottville United Methodist Church, or the Mason County Central Educational Foundation.

Richard "Dick" Weaver

January 27, 1928 - October 16, 2020