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Leo B. Weiner Tarpon Springs, FL QCWA # 14872 |
Leo Bernard Weiner died peacefully at UPMC Hamot, on Tuesday, December 5, 2017, after a brief illness. He was born in Erie, on November 13, 1912, the eldest son of Bernard Weiner and Magdalene Kujawski Weiner.
He graduated from St. Stanislaus High School, attended the University of Detroit and graduated from the General Electric Engineering Night School. He was a machine design engineer at the Erie GE plant, where he worked for 34 years. He and his wife Alexandra "Alice" retired to Tarpon Springs, Florida in 1977. He was an active member of St. Ignatius Catholic Parish and its Care Club until he returned to Erie in 2009. He lived at the Regency at South Shore, then at Westlake Woods Assisted Living until his death.
Leo interests were broad and varied. In 1929, he built his first radio and obtained a license to operate his amateur radio station, W8BSE. He remained active in ham radio throughout his life, operating as W3LOS and ending with the honorary call sign KE4O. He used Morse Code only, mostly with the traditional key, but built a code transmission "typewriter," which he used for a number of years. He was a member of the American Radio Relay League, the Quarter Century Wireless Association and the International DX Association. He was interested in all things electronic and bought his first computer in 1984, which he enjoyed programming.
He was also a classically trained pianist who played professionally in his younger years. He enjoyed good music from Bach to "The Beatles Go Baroque" and had particular regard for the piano works of Chopin. He enjoyed traveling with his family and friends, especially to Cape Cod, and in his later , to several countries in Europe, including Poland, where he visited with Polish relatives. His last trips were to Australia and China.
Leo was an avid walker for decades before it began to be popular, and he walked four miles a day for more than fifty years. He enjoyed hiking country roads, often with one of his daughters, and had great love and appreciation for the power and beauty of the natural world.
Leo was preceded in death by his wife, Alexandra Gostomski Weiner in 1988; a daughter, Rosalie Weiner, in childhood; four sisters, Anne R. Weiner, Regina Cornell, Louise Jorgensen, and Clara Spencer; and his brother, C. Thomas Weiner.
He is survived by one sister, Veronica Chuzie of New London, N.H.; daughters, Mary Anne Weiner of Erie, Lorraine "Lori" Wellman of Minneapolis, Minn., and Christine Callaghan of Laconia, N.H.; five grandchildren, Matthew, Michael, Sara and Jessie Callaghan and Amos Kmiec; great grandchildren, Kian and Neve Hart and Lillian Callaghan; a cousin, Florence Ciotoli; and many nieces and nephews.
The family wish to publicly acknowledge the expertise, support and loving kindness of all the staff at Westlake Woods, and in Leo's final days, by the nurses, physicians and other caregivers at UPMC Hamot.
Friends may call at the Edward J. Garr Funeral Home, 459 East 12th Street, on Tuesday, December 19th from 4-7 p.m. A prayer service will be held Wednesday at 9:30 a.m., followed by a funeral Mass at 10 a.m. at St. Stanislaus Church. Burial, at Calvary Cemetery, will be private. Memorials may be made to St. Stanislaus Church, 516 East 13th Street, Erie, PA 16503.
Published in the Erie Times-News on Dec. 14, 2017