Donald Weir

WEIR, BEMIS MCGILL

Posted By: Emmet County IAGenWeb Coordinator (email)
Date: 3/15/2011 at 20:50:20

Donald, fourth son of George A. and Carrie Bemis Weir, was born July 30, 1901 in Dunnell, Minnesota.

He was married August 16, 1927 to Mary Elizabeth McGill, daughter of William Douglas and Martha McCartney McGill at the Lisbon United Presbyterian Church, near Sussex, Wisconsin.

Donald received his education, grades 1-6, Lincoln School, Estherville, 7 and 8th grades Emmet Township Rural school #4, Willa Van Eman teacher; 9th grade Redwood Falls, Minn, 10-12th grades Estherville, graduated 1919; Kansas State and Iowa State College, B.S. degree, 1924; Graduate work at University of Minnesota and University of Wisconsin-Master of Science, University of Wisconsin, 1929, other advanced work at Drake University and University of Iowa.

Mary Elizabeth was educated at Lisbon Township rural school; high school in Waukesha, Wisconsin, graduated, 1920; B.A. Carroll College, Waukesha, 1924. Advanced work University of Wisconsin. Library training at Mankato State College and University of Minnesota.

Donald taught at Little Rock and Welton, Iowa; superintendent of schools at Lakota, Burt, Adel, and Jefferson for total of twenty five years, then textbook salesman for Prentice-Hall, Inc., for twenty years. He retired in 1967.

Mary Elizabeth was a high school teacher at Waupaca, Wisconsin, for three years; also taught in Superior, Estherville and Forest City then school librarian in Fulda, Minnesota for nine years. She retired in June, 1967.

Their residence since July, 1947 has been at 708 North Eighth Street, Estherville, Iowa.

Their children are: Dr. Donald Douglas Weir, M.D., internist, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He graduated from Adel High School, Drake University, University of Iowa Medical School and John Hopkins University. He married Donna Gail Johnson. They have three children: Shawnee, Shay, and Janna Lee.

Janice Rae Weir Weaver, is the wife of Dr. Robert Weaver, Chairman Science Department, University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point. Janice graduated from Estherville High School, then from Drake University with B. A. in Fine Arts. They have four children Rob, Nicholas, Laura and Lynda.

Kathleen Kay Weir Scott, wife of Gene Scott formerly of Estherville is now a Junior High School teacher in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. She is an Estherville high school graduate, with a B. A. degree in Home Economics from Mankato State College. They have two children Julie Kay and John Walter.

All three, Donald, Janice and Kathleen were good students and members of the National Honor Society.

Their hobbies and interests have been church work, Donald, an elder and deacon and Mary, all of her life in young peoples' and womens' work; Masonic, Eastern Star and Past Matrons; knitting, needlepoint flowers, various handicrafts; lapidary and collecting field rocks; for about 15 years they have collected used clothing and donated it to Indians and others in the Rapid City area, with two large shipments a year.

They are nominally Republican, but usually independent.

It would take a large volume to enumerate the important events in their lives, but these stand out; watching their children all graduate from college; watching each and a granddaughter be married; hearing Janices' children play Zuzuki violins; trips to Colorado and Black Hills; Mary's 50th Class reunion at Carroll College in 1974.

Donald had four brothers: Paul, Lynn, Gene and Lee. Mary Elizabeth had one brother, Charles.

Contributed by: James M. Richmond . Source: "History of Emmet County, Iowa, Vol. III", Compiled by the Emmet County Historical Society as a Bicentennial Project., Inter-Collegiate Press, Inc., Shawnee Mission, Kansas, 1976, pages 441.