Janey Weaver (Mary Jane McLaughlin) departed this life September 15, 2013. She was preceded in death by her parents, Joseph Elmer 'Boe' and Lula Frances Jones McLaughlin; three sisters - Betty Jo 'Bet' Foley, Marthella 'Mot' Herman Chase and Linda Lou 'Linda' White - and two brothers - Charles Donald 'Buck' McLaughlin and Vann Bolt McLaughlin. She is survived by her beloved husband of sixty-nine years - H. B.'Buck' Weaver, Jr. - her children - Gayle Weaver Moore (Lanier Fogg) and Lynn Weaver Williams – grandchildren – Tracy E. Moore Weaver (Randy), Nancy Moore Dyson (Robbie), Barkley Williams, Marna Jane Bevill (Zach) and Charlie Williams - great grandchildren, Caitlyn Weaver, Jimmy Weaver, Lilly Dyson and Jackson Weaver Bevill – siblings - Sarah Francis 'Sally' Thomas, Mickey Dean McLaughlin (Martha) and Rebecca Fayne 'Becky' Clements - and numerous nieces and nephews.
Mary Jane McLaughlin was born in Leeds, Alabama to Boe and Lula McLaughlin.
The eldest of nine children, Janey was a born leader. She graduated from St. Clair County High School the valedictorian of her class and later went on to attend Massey Business College. During World War II, while working at Clow Corporation, she met her future husband, H. B. Weaver, who was stationed at the Birmingham Army Air Base and they were married six months later. Early in their marriage, Buck and Janey lived in Texas but returned to Alabama to make Birmingham their home for more than sixty years.
In 1953, Janey joined Mountain Brook Baptist Church where she served as secretary of the preschool Sunday School Department for more than fifty years. She was also a member of the Agape Sunday School Class. Alongside Buck, her children, and grandchildren, Janey served on the Mountain Brook Baptist Church Builders for Christ team. She was a part of the kitchen crew that fed more than a hundred volunteers three meals a day for the week each summer that they helped build new churches in various states. She served as a Pink Lady at Montclair Baptist Hospital for thirty-five years. She was a member of The Coronets Dance Club, The Gaieties Dance Club, The Belle Meade Garden Club, The Famous Sewing Club, Birmingham Country Club and The Club. She was also active in the PTA at Crestline Elementary and Mountain Brook Junior High where her children attended school.
In later years, Janey was the secretary/treasurer of Overseas Corporation, an international sales company formed by her husband, Buck. This afforded them the opportunity for worldwide travel where they formed many life-long friendships. Occasionally her children and grandchildren joined them on these international adventures, enriching their lives and exposing them to the beauty and wonder of the world.
She loved her children and grandchildren dearly and delighted in having them around and showering them with books, clothes and toys. If Buck needed to travel for business during a school break, Janey loaded whichever children and grandchildren were available and took them along. She helped them learn to entertain themselves on long car trips, to be well behaved in social situations around adults and, ultimately, to be self-sufficient in the world. They were rewarded, of course, because these journeys often ended with a few glorious days in Gatlinburg, Disneyworld, New Orleans, or on a beach on the coast of Alabama or Florida.
Janey was known and admired as a consummate hostess. Always quick to remember the names of everyone she met, she was as charming as she was beautiful. The oldest of nine children, she directed and coordinated numerous family gatherings that often ended with the brothers and sisters telling stories about each other and their escapades growing up on a farm outside of Leeds. Janey was viewed as the matriarch of the McLaughlin clan by her siblings and was affectionately referred to as "Sarge".
The Thanksgiving and Christmas gatherings at Rockhill Road held a very special place in the life of the family. And Janey was always at the center, surrounded by the love of her children, grandchildren, and a great many guests as well. Neighbors, friends, or contemporaries of her children who didn’t have a family nearby to share in the holidays were always welcome. Among the grandchildren’s fondest memories is bedding down in sleeping bags on Janey’s bedroom floor when the house was full of guests. She would be up with them at the crack of dawn on Christmas morning. Her presence will forever be felt in these and so many other moments.
The family would like to thank all who cared for Janey during her stay at Clare Bridge, particularly Brenda Sims and her current personal caregivers – Donna Carroll, Michelle McCoy, Von Hales and Jimmy Davis. Their care for her was genuine, bringing dignity and love to the final days of her life.
A celebration of her life will be held in the chapel of Mountain Brook Baptist Church on Thursday, September 19 at 11:00 am. Visitation will follow in Hudson Hall. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Jim Moebes Endowment Fund at Mountain Brook Baptist Church, Builders for Christ, Alzheimer's of Central Alabama or to the charity of the donor’s choice.
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