Vern Weigum, 80, leaves a lasting green mark on Lodi

Vern Weigum, owner of Weigum’s Nursery and wellknown for his contributions to the Lodi community both in the form of his gardening expertise and for his donations to local institutions, passed away at the age of 80 on Saturday.

Weigum was an active member of the Lodi Historical Society, donating new turf to the Hill House Museum in 2014, along with funds to help pay for the labor. Most recently, he donated the roses that hang in the trees leading up to the Hill House.

The donation wasn’t a onetime event. He also planted roses in Legion Park, donated centerpieces to class reunions — and as many visitors to his nursery can attest, frequently slipped homegrown produce in with a purchase.

“He was an institution in this community, with his business and his community spirit,” said Joseph Wood, Neighborhood Services manager for the City of Lodi.

He was also a longtime member of the Lodi Community Concert Association and Tree Lodi.

Retiring Tree Lodi founder and former president Joyce Harmon considered Weigum a generous man who did a lot for the community.

“He will be dearly missed by many people,” she said.

Although he was not a founder himself, Harmon said that she thought as highly of Weigum as she did any of the founders of Tree Lodi, a group of tree experts, business owners and other community members working together to preserve Lodi’s trees.

He often donated his time to local gardening groups, sharing his expertise on gardening topics like pest control — he preferred natural pest control such as lady bugs to chemicals.

He also frequently shared gardening advice with reporters and columnists at the Lodi News-Sentinel, on topics that ranged from growing the best tomatoes to winterizing a lawn. In 2012, he was honored for his contributions to the community when he was invited to serve as the grand marshal of the Parade of Lights, Lodi’s annual Christmas event.

Weigum was a former employee of the now-closed General Mills plant, from 1957 until his retirement in 1982. He left the plant when he took over Weigum’s Nursery from his parents, who began the company in 1948. He married his wife, Lee Ann, on Sept. 26, 1958. Lee Ann passed away on Oct. 14, 2008 at the age of 67.

“The Weigum Nursery, for over 60 years, has helped to beautify our community,” said Pat Patrick, president and CEO of the Lodi District Chamber of Commerce. “Vern was a terrific giver to the community in many ways.”

Patrick pointed out that Weigum had donated plants and trees throughout the Lodi area.

“They are his living legacy,” he said. “He was a great guy.”

Weigum’s fellow nursery owners remembered him as a staple of the industry in the area.

“I remember when I had my first article in the Lodi NewsSentinel, he called me up and congratulated me on it,” said Art Duivenvoorde, owner of Hollandutch Nursery. Weigum had complimented a couple of Duivenvoorde’s answers to the reporter’s questions. “It made me feel good,” Duivenvoorde said. He often ran into Weigum at industry events, and noted that everyone knew him because he’d been in business in the area for so long.

Eric Loughead, who handles sales and purchasing for Delta Tree Farms, considered Weigum a friend. “I’ve known Vern for a lot of years,” he said. The two met through the nursery world, Loughead said.

“Every time I went in there, (Vern) said ‘Hey, why don’t you buy my nursery?’” he recalled. The nursery won’t be the same without Weigum, Loughead said. “He was wellliked in Lodi. He’d been there forever,” he said.

Lodi News-Sentinel columnist Gwin Mitchell Paden has been a friend of Weigum’s for many years, and a loyal customer of his nursery for more than 20. “He was always fun to talk to, even if he was cantankerous — which he often was, but it was a lovable kind of cantankerous,” she said. He knew a lot about plants, and always had time to talk. His nursery was a meeting place for Weigum and his friends, Paden said.

“It was always just a nice, warm, friendly place to go,” she said. He was also very active in the Lodi community. “He was very generous,” she said. “Very generous.”

That generosity ranged from donations to Hill House and community service work, to slipping the occasional free plant into her purchases. His generosity even extended to furry Lodi residents — he kept a couple of warm cat beds and some food in one of his sheds for the strays that came around the nursery. He had a few quirks, too. Weigum loved bonsai trees and old cars, Paden said, and he always wore shorts, no matter the weather.

“He was just Vern. He was a fixture,” she said. “When they made him, they broke the mold.”