Mary Jane Weaver

Mary Jane Weaver (née Albright) spent her life caring for the people and things she loved. From chickadees to hospital patients, the Cavaliers to her younger sisters Emily and Louise, her garden to butter pecan ice cream, her affection was felt by all who had the pleasure of knowing her.

Mary Jane was born in Calumet, PA on May 14, 1939 to Clark and Mary Albright. She was introduced to the love of her life, Samuel Roy Weaver, in his Aunt Kitty’s living room. She quickly formed lifelong connections with his immediate and extended family, including his many beloved aunts who would go on to travel with and dote on the three Weaver children. Mary Jane and Sam were married on July 13, 1960. They moved to Cleveland shortly after and raised three children and seven grandchildren in Berea.

After attending nursing school at Westmoreland Hospital in Pennsylvania, Mary Jane spent most of her career at Southwest General Hospital where she was a night ICU nurse. She enjoyed her patients and her colleagues and in 1992 she was awarded the Taliak Award for the SWGH’s outstanding nurse of the year. She remained friends with colleagues up until her death.

Her care for life, however, was not restricted to her patients. Mary Jane loved animals, whether she was giving daily shots to a diabetic tabby, trying every cat food under the sun to help a scrawny calico fight kidney disease, doting on her children and grandchildren’s cats and dogs, or bragging about how much the staff at the assisted living loved to visit precious companion Callie 2.0. Mary Jane was also an avid gardener, both at home and at the family cottage on Leesville Lake. She loved birds of all kinds - especially chickadees, hummingbirds, and cardinals - and always had a thriving bird feeder in the backyard.

Mary Jane loved to experience new things. Despite refusing to fly (until an ultimate trip to Hawaii), she and Sam visited 49 states. She was especially fond of historical site visits and always found interesting books and trinkets to share on her return. Mary Jane was also a lifelong learner. She was never seen without a book, a puzzle, or the PBS TV guide. She read the Plain Dealer and TIME magazine religiously and enjoyed adult learning events and elder hostel trips with Sam regularly. And of course, she was a loyal Cleveland sports fan, especially the Cavaliers.

Mary Jane and Sam were incredibly active members of the United Methodist Church of Berea throughout their lives. Mary Jane especially enjoyed her time with the quilters’ group, meeting every week to work on beautiful projects, and share the news and their lunches.

Most of all, Mary Jane loved her family and friends. She never missed a birthday and had an encyclopedic knowledge of what was going on in her people’s lives. She kept her family connected even as they started to spread out of the Cleveland area, and she was always ready with a sandwich on toast from the freezer or 7:30 p.m. Jeopardy. She loved to feed people, and excelled in baking, especially her famous pies, pretzel jello, and an annual supply of Christmas cookies. Mary Jane often put her exemplary seamstress and quilting skills to work for her family, making each of her grandchildren a beautifully personalized hand-quilted quilt so that they could take her love with them as they grew.

Mary Jane passed peacefully on April 27, 2026 with family around her. She is survived and remembered by her children John Weaver (Lisa), Jeanne Weaver Allen (Clayton), and Jeremy Weaver (Julie); her treasured grandchildren Maddie (Summit), Mitch, Katie, David, Libby, Molly, and Sam. She is also survived by her siblings, Dick, Louise, Emily, and Bill. She is preceded in death by her beloved husband of 64 years, Samuel Roy Weaver. To honor Mary Jane, listen to a Neil Diamond song, wear the color blue, feed the birds, complete a puzzle, or make something for someone you love.

ALL SERVICES ARE PRIVATE. Arrangements entrusted to the A. RIPEPI & SONS' FUNERAL HOME 18149 BAGLEY RD. MIDDLEBURG HTS., OH 44130 (WEST OF I-71).