BRUCE D. WEAVER

1922-2021

Bruce Weaver Sr. of Houston, Texas died of natural causes on Tuesday, the 14th of December 2021, at his home surrounded by family and loved ones. He was 99 years old. Born to Jessie and Lula Weaver in Kirbyville, Texas on the 19th of November 1922, he was the youngest and last surviving of nine children. His siblings were Claudie, Redia, Effie, Marchie, Opal, Lillian, Eugene and Hoyt. He also survived his wife of 56 years, Irene Jurries Weaver who lost her life to cancer in 2001, his oldest child Bruce David Weaver Jr. who passed away in 2004 and his second child, Shannon Foster Weaver who died at birth in 1946.

Coincidentally, Bruce and his mother Lula, who was born in 1880, were reunited on her birthday the day he passed away, December 14th.

Bruce “PawPaw” Weaver is survived by his other two children and their spouses Beverly and Steven Floyd and Byron and Cindy Weaver as well as seven grandchildren and their spouses James Floyd, Aaron and Hannah Floyd, Steve Floyd, Tres and Jennifer Weaver, Katie and Russell Martin, Delaney Weaver and Denton and Addie Weaver. He had six great-grandchildren, Caden and Caleb Martin, Ella and Jamie Floyd, Coral Floyd and Corrine Floyd.

He was first and foremost a family man, a devoted husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother and uncle. He loved sharing his vast knowledge and love of nature and the great outdoors with all of them. In later years he befriended Doris Hervey, a neighborhood acquaintance who became his “lady friend”. Doris was very dear to him, and their relationship enriched the last two decades of his life enormously.

Bruce was an entrepreneur and a risk taker, always excited about his next adventure. While still in high school, he started his own business as a store and cafe owner. Soon after he graduated he joined the Merchant Marines where he learned to work with sheet metal. While working as a Merchant Marine, he helped to build the Liberty Ships used during WWII. Bruce and Irene married on his 22nd birthday in 1944 and after the war the two of them launched a business manufacturing and installing stainless steel commercial kitchen equipment. The business grew to become national in scope, serving many of the leading names in the fast food and hospitality industries. He also was a succesful restauranteur, hotel operator, and builder of townhouses and custom homes. He was a passionate rancher, owning two Texas properties where he raised cattle, elk and exotic game. He regularly shared his weekends and holidays on the ranches with many friends and family.

But his adventures didn’t stop there. He was an ardent sportsman who loved hunting and fishing in pursuit of deer, catfish, big fish, quail and big game on safari. He learned to fly and flew his own plane for years. He loved professional sports, Westerns and dogs, especially Rhodesian Ridgebacks. He loved the rodeo and was the oldest living Lifetime Director of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Bruce was an avid reader and constant learner. He listened well and was open to other points of view.. He read the paper from cover to cover everyday. He lived enthusiastically and traveled the world, always eager to learn something new.

Bruce touched countless lives with his kindness and great big heart. He was a great teacher of life and love, as generous and kind as he was fun and adventurous. He was ever-faithful to his large immediate and extended family, friends and caretakers. He loved his church and was devoted to helping others. One of his missions was to help the homeless, and he invested passionately in the Lifeline Project of Houston’s First United Methodist Church.

The family would like to give special acknowledgement to the people who cared for Bruce in his last several years. His grandson, Bruce D. Weaver III (“Tres”), was always available for him. Tres spent countless hours helping Paw Paw with whatever he needed. Bruce always said “I really do not know what I would do without him.” Thank you, Tres with all our hearts.

We would also like to thank his amazing caretakers, Adriana Harper, Marian Henderson and Lafondra Ferguson. Their love and great care for him was never doubted. He felt safe and loved in their care, and he loved them back. They became family. Dr. Christopher Robben and nurse Sarah Newman, Seasons Hospice nurses and practitioner Erin Donahoe and Kendra Daily took great care of him as well. They were always present when he needed them, and he enjoyed every one of their visits. We will be forever grateful. Friends are invited to a visitation with the family from four o’clock in the afternoon until six o’clock in the evening on Tuesday, the 4th of January, in the library and grand foyer of Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering Drive in Houston.

The memorial service is to be held at noon on Wednesday, the 5th of January, in the Sanctuary of Chapelwood United Methodist Church, 11140 Greenbay Street in Houston. Immediately following, all are invited to greet the family during a reception in the nearby parlor.

Prior to the service, the family will have gathered for a private interment at Glenwood Cemetery in Houston.

In lieu of customary remembrances, the family would like to suggest memorial contributions be directed toward the LifeLine Project at the First United Methodist Church, 1320 Main St., Houston, TX 77002.

Please visit Mr. Weaver’s online memorial tribute page at GeoHLewis.com where memories and words of comfort and condolence may be shared electronically with his family.