Leo Weaver

Leo Weaver January 4, 1925 - October 16, 2021 A life lived well! Husband, Father, and Environmental Engineer, he lived a life of public service, with a focus on family and a strong faith in God. Leo was born in Paterson, New Jersey. He lived in Clifton, New Jersey for the first 18 years of his life. He then served in the U.S. Army from 1943 to 1946 in the 1251 Engineer Combat Battalion in the European Theater of Operation. Motivated by his WWII experience and with the assistance of the GI Bill, he completed college at New York University College of Engineering in 1948. He was then commissioned in the US Public Health Service (USPHS), beginning a career in environmental health/pollution control spanning 50+ years. During his first assignment in Washington D.C., he met the love of his life, Mary Louise Spoonamore. They were married on July 2, 1949. Leo’s career took them to North Dakota, North Carolina, Louisiana, Montana, Illinois, and Maryland. It finished up in Cincinnati, Ohio. Leo and Mary Lou retired in Greeley in 1998. Throughout their 71 years together, they were active in their church, holding various responsible offices and leadership positions. Leo was heavily involved in the Boy Scouts of America program and also very active as a Rotarian, eventually becoming Vice President of the Cincinnati Rotary in 1981. Leo and Mary Lou raised six children and enjoyed spending time with them, their many grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Leo had a long successful professional career. As a young USPHS officer, he developed and managed a North Dakota project to demonstrate the feasibility of operating a sanitary landfill in a cold climate. Then he returned to Washington DC to head a newly established national refuse sanitation program. He left the USPHS in 1958 to become Assistant Director of the American Public Works Association (APWA) in Chicago, Illinois. Returning to the USPHS in 1960, Leo served as the Director of the National Water Pollution Surveillance Laboratory in Cincinnati, Ohio. He then returned to Washington in 1965 as Chief of the Federal Solid Waste Program. With the establishment of the USEPA in 1968 and the transfer of most USPHS environmental programs to that new agency, Leo retired from the USPHS, and became the first Director of the newly established Washington DC office of APWA. There he led APWA Federal legislative and executive branch coordination activities. In 1971 he became the Assistant Executive Secretary, Water Pollution Control Federation (now Water Environment Federation), again principally responsible for the Federation’s government affairs program. In 1974 Leo moved back to Cincinnati and became the Executive Director and Chief Engineer of the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission. Established in 1948 under an eight state compact, the Commission monitors, regulates and abates water pollution in the Ohio River Valley and its tributaries. Stepping down in 1987, Leo continued to work as an Environmental Engineering Consultant in private practice until his final retirement in 1997. He is survived by one sister; Janice Helen Zisa of Clifton, New Jersey, four sons; Steven Mark Weaver (Carol) of Monroe, Washington, Charles Everett Weaver of Port Saint Lucie, Florida, Michael Ray Weaver (Monica) of Dallas, Texas, and Daniel Cline Weaver (Carmel) of Craig, Alaska; two daughters; Lee Anne Butler of Loveland, Colorado and Allison Lynn Sedlacek (Roger) of Greeley, Colorado. He was preceded in death by his wife of 71 years, Mary Louise, his parents; Forrest Everett Weaver and Bessie Helen Weaver, two sisters; Ellen Anna Hart and Naomi Rita Frenzel, and one brother; David George Weaver. A graveside military service at Sunset Memorial Gardens will be held at 11:00 a.m. followed by a life celebration reception at Adamson Life Celebration Home on November 1, 2021. Memorial contributions may be made to: High Plains Honor Flights in care of Adamson Life Celebration Home or by going to www.highplainshonorflight.org.