James Charles Weaver, age 87, passed away on Sept. 6, 2022, at Cornwall Manor in Cornwall, PA, after several days fighting a Covid infection. He had been in nursing home care since 2018 for a type of dementia called normal pressure hydrocephalus. He was preceded in death by his parents James and Viola Weaver, and his wife Barbara Ann Weaver. He is survived by his son Philip Weaver, and daughter Sarah Weaver (Martha Hardy), and his sister Phyllis Mihalcin (Ed Mihalcin), and extended family.
He was born in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, and attended Beaver Falls High School. He earned a BA in Psychology from Mount Union College where he played baritone horn in the marching band and was president of his Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity chapter. Immediately after graduating from Mount Union in 1957, he came before selective service for the military draft and was granted conscientious objector status. His alternate service was at Goodwill Industries in Pittsburgh. He married Barbara Ann Fidler in 1959 shortly after she graduated and they spent their early married life in Pittsburgh and then moved to Michigan City, Indiana. Jim had a long career in public relations and marketing. He worked for Clark Equipment in Michigan City and then for the Presbyterian Church. Jim and Barbara moved to Philadelphia in 1961 where they joined First United Methodist Church of Germantown (FUMCOG) and started their long-term connections to The Religious Society of Friends. Jim worked for the American Friends Service Committee for most of the 1960s. One highlight of his work for AFSC was a 3-month long global trip connecting with overseas AFSC offices and supporting their public relations efforts. He told stories from this trip for the rest of his life including eyebrow raising details like smuggling IUDs into India. In the early 1970s Jim worked in marketing for the Philadelphia Zoo and as Director of Development for Friends Select School. From the mid 1970s until his retirement Jim ran his own public relations and marketing firm primarily working for non-profit organizations including many Friends and other small private schools, many arts organizations, and organizations that served adults with disabilities in the Philadelphia region. As a volunteer he served on several local non-profit boards including Victim’s Services Center of Montgomery County, The Clay Studio, and Woodmere Art Museum.
In retirement, Jim and Barbara enjoyed travel to places in Europe including Switzerland and Germany. In North America Jim and Barbara enjoyed many trips to Chincoteague, Virginia for bird watching, and trips to Maine, and Nova Scotia. Jim enjoyed writing about his travels and after retiring had a part time travel writing career that took him to many places in the USA and to countries like Spain, Croatia, and Slovenia. He was an enthusiastic social dancer and loved swing dance the most but also took classes in folk dancing, ballroom dancing and polka. He studied piano as an adult and also took many drawing classes. After moving to Cornwall Manor, he taught swing dance classes for residents there. Most of all Jim was funny and made us laugh all the time. He was a kind and gentle soul and we will miss him.
A memorial Friends meeting for worship will be held at Germantown Monthly Meeting, 47 West Coulter Street, Philadelphia, PA 19144 on October 29th, 2022 at 2:00 PM. All are welcome to attend to celebrate his life. We would like to invite people who knew our mother, Barbara Weaver to attend as well to remember our parents together. In lieu of flowers please donate to the American Friends Service Committee or Woodmere Art Museum.
