Paul Joseph Weidner

Paul Joseph Weidner, a long-time resident of Raleigh, passed away at Rex Hospital on December 12 from multiple organ failures. He was 81. Paul was born in 1940 in Dayton, Ohio, to Helen and Eugene Weidner; the youngest of four children. Eugene died when Paul was 10 and after that Helen worked hard to raise her children alone.

Paul received a BS in Mathematics from The Ohio State University and married his first wife, Sheila, in the early sixties. After a stint teaching math Paul joined Xerox to start a career in the field then known as data processing. He and Sheila welcomed 4 children while living in the Columbus Ohio area. A job opportunity with the Celanese corporation in Charlotte brought the family to North Carolina in 1978.

After being laid off from Celanese in the mid-1980s, Paul started work at the Employment Security Commission in Raleigh. Job stress and physical distance eventually led to the dissolution of Paul’s 30+ year marriage to Sheila. He met his second wife, Miriam, at work and they were married in 2004. Miriam encouraged Paul to explore his passions and in retirement he enjoyed art, cooking, gardening, music, golf and traveling. He was an active and loving presence in the lives of his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. He and Miriam had a strong circle of friends and enjoyed dining out together and hosting parties. After 2016 Miriam experienced increasing health problems, but with the love and care of Paul she was able to remain at home until her death in 2019. Paul enjoyed good health until a short bout of covid in late 2020 after which his mobility lessened and he suffered a series of small ailments culminating in his hospitalization and death.

Paul is survived by his children, Joseph, Ann, Robert, and Deborah; his sister, Mary; his brothers-in-law Greg and Bert; his grand-children, great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and friends.

There will be a memorial service on Saturday, February 19, at 2 PM at the Brown-Wynne Funeral Home at 200 SE Maynard Rd in Cary, NC.

In lieu of flowers the family requests donations to one of Paul and Miriam’s favorite charities, the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina or St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.