Necrology

George Roger Weeden, Jr. '39

Oct. 3, 1918-Aug. 24, 2006

George Roger Weeden, Jr. ’39, a physician who practiced with great compassion in the Mohawk Valley for 30 years, and an exceptionally devoted alumnus, was born on October 3, 1918, in Frankfort, NY, not far from Utica. A son of G. Roger Weeden, an insurance agent, and the former Helen E. Fish, he was a grandson of Willis L. Weeden, Class of 1882, one of the founders of the Emerson Literary Society. “Rog” Weeden grew up in Frankfort and became an Eagle Scout and YMCA camper and counselor. He entered Hamilton in 1935 from Frankfort High School and joined Delta Upsilon. He played trumpet in the College band for four years and managed the basketball team in his senior year.

Following his graduation in 1939, Rog Weeden obtained a job selling checks and check-writing equipment for the Todd Co. in Rochester, NY. Inducted into the U.S. Army during the Second World War in 1942, he served in the enlisted ranks, initially on military police duty. Subsequently assigned to a mechanical engineering program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he concluded his military service in a clerical post at the 126^th General Hospital in the Philippines.

Inspired to pursue a career in medicine, Roger Weeden returned to Hamilton upon his release from the Army in 1946 to take biology and organic chemistry courses in preparation for medical school. While back on the Hill, he also filled in as an instructor in mathematics. After a year, he left the College to enroll in the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. He was a medical student there when, on December 26, 1948, he and Ethalynd (Lynn) Burke, a registered nurse, were wed in Ilion, NY.

Roger Weeden received his M.D. degree in 1951. Three years later, after his internship and residency in Rochester, he began his general practice in Mohawk, NY, in partnership with his brother-in-law, Arthur Applegate ’41. They later practiced together in the Mohawk Valley Medical Group in Ilion. Dr. Weeden sold his partnership in the Group and retired in 1982, but continued active part-time thereafter as a plant physician for Remington Arms Co. in Ilion. A general practitioner in the traditional sense for most of his career, he treated a wide range of ailments, always with gentle caring. In retirement, he found more time for “gardening, golfing, cooking, reading, camping, and a few committees,” as well as Hamilton.

Dr. Weeden, a former president of the Herkimer County Medical Society and highly respected by his peers as well as his patients, was devoted to the College and served on the Alumni Council as president of the Utica Area Alumni Association. He participated regularly in alumni activities on campus, chaired class reunions, and served as class agent for the Annual Fund. A soft-spoken and congenial man, he was always a welcome presence on the Hill.

G. Roger Weeden, a longtime resident of Ilion and most recently of Tully, NY, died on August 24, 2006, following a 5-month illness. In addition to his wife of 57 years, he is survived by a son, Christopher B. Weeden; a daughter, Judith Shafer; and five grandchildren, including Christopher B, Jr. ’02 and Kimberly M. Weeden ’06. He was predeceased by his elder son, G. Roger Weeden III ’74, in 1978, and by his brother, Willis F. Weeden ’41, in July 2006. Other relatives include his nephews, Willis F. Weeden, Jr. ’70 and Stephen H. ’74 and Robert W. Applegate ’75.

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