Necrology

Willis Weeden '41

Mar. 5, 1920-Jul. 9, 2006

Willis Fred Weeden ’41, a retired physician and surgeon, long prominent in the Canandaigua, NY, community, was born on March 5, 1920, in Frankfort, not far from Utica. A son of George Roger Weeden, an insurance agent, and the former Helen Fish, he was a grandson of Willis L. Weeden, Class of 1882. He followed his older brother, Roger, to College Hill in 1937, after his graduation from Frankfort High School. On the Hill, “Bill” Weeden managed to combine demanding premedical studies with active participation in athletics as well as student government. He played varsity basketball for three years and football for four, despite temporary interruptions caused by ankle and knee injuries. A member of Delta Upsilon, he was elected president of his sophomore class and served on the Student Council in his senior year. Tapped for all four class honoraries, Quadrangle, DT, Was Los, and Pentagon, he was graduated in 1941.

Before entering the University of Rochester School of Medicine in the fall of that year, Bill Weeden spent the summer working a 12-hour shift making machine guns at Savage Arms in Utica. His medical studies accelerated because of World War II, he earned his M.D. degree in 1944. On November 18 of that year, while serving his internship, he was wed to Janet Edam in Rochester. By 1945, he was on active duty with the U.S. Navy. He served as a medical officer on an aircraft carrier in the Pacific theater, not long before the Japanese surrender and the war’s end.

Released from the Navy as a lieutenant in 1946, Bill Weeden returned to Rochester and completed its surgical residency program. However, in 1952 he was recalled by the Navy to serve for the duration of the Korean War. Released once again in 1954, he established his practice of general surgery in Canandaigua, in New York’s Finger Lakes region. A fellow of the American College of Surgeons, he became attending surgeon in charge of the surgical staff as well as president of the medical staff at F.F. Thompson Hospital in Canandaigua. He also served part-time as an associate professor of surgery at Rochester’s medical school and was a director of Rochester Blue Cross and Blue Shield and of the Genesee Valley Medical Service.

In addition, Dr. Weeden made a variety of contributions to the Canandaigua community, including service as president of its board of education. In 1969, he joined the board of directors of the Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. and helped guide it through its formation as a bank holding company. He was named director emeritus following 26 years of distinguished service to the bank in 1995.

Bill Weeden, who retired from his surgical practice in 1986, found pleasure in gardening and golfing. He also enjoyed fishing from the dock fronting his home on Canandaigua Lake. His retirement years were enriched by the close family ties and the proximity of his grandchildren.

Long in ill health, Willis F. Weeden, a devoted alumnus, died at his home in Canandaigua on July 9, 2006. In addition to his wife of over 60 years, he is survived by a son, Willis F. Weeden, Jr. ’70; two daughters, Debra Pasternack and Barbara Pasley; and seven grandchildren and nieces and nephews including Stephen H. Applegate ’74. Dr. Weeden predeceased by six weeks his brother, G.

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