Marion Josef Weigel

Marion Josef (Joe) Weigel died 5/23/20 at the age of 96, taken by Covid-19. He leaves behind his wife of nearly 64 years, Mary, his children, Catherine Marie (Cathy), Peter Josef (Pete), and his daughter-in-law, Amy, as well as much extended family. A mass will be held at St. Gabriel’s Catholic Church on Friday, May 29 at 10am, with a graveside service at Resurrection Cemetery following the mass.

Joe was born 3/31/24 in Sabetha, KS, missing an April Fool’s birthday by only a few hours. He graduated from Washington High School in Sioux Falls, SD. He enrolled in Iowa State University’s engineering program and took part in their ROTC program, until he volunteered for the Army during WWII. He attended courses at City College of New York under the Army Special Training Program, then was assigned to the Special Engineering detachment at Oak Ridge, TN, working on the development and production of the world’s first atomic bomb. Joe often joked that he was spared being sent overseas because the Army didn’t trust him with a rifle. He was honorably discharged 3/7/46.

After leaving the service, he continued his education at the University of Missouri at Columbia, making use of his GI Bill benefits. He was a member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity both at Iowa State and at MU. He graduated from MU with a B.S in Mechanical Engineering in 1948. From then on, Joe liked to joke that whenever Iowa State & Mizzou played each other in any sport, he couldn’t lose. Post-college, Joe enrolled in graduate courses at Johns Hopkins in the fall of 1948. He regaled listeners with the joys of Baltimore crab cakes for the rest of his life.

Joe relocated to Kansas City in 1951 after visiting his parents during a vacation and getting a job at Butler Mfg. The relocation to KC allowed Joe to help his parents on their farm in Excelsior Springs. Joe retired from Butler in 1983.

In 1956, Joe married the former Mary Lawless. Being seven years older than Mary, Joe liked to joke that Mary was his “child bride.” In their 63-plus years together, Joe pursued a variety of hobbies. His favorite pastimes included: bird watching (a birding excursion in Mazatlan on his & Mary’s 50th wedding anniversary cruise made a BIG impression), golfing (Joe once scored a hole-in-one), making a mean Manhattan, cooking & canning his own vegetables and sauces (his lasagna and ratatouille were legendary, as was his canned chili sauce), gardening (particularly African violets), chess, and crossword puzzles. He was also a voracious reader of history and biographies, and a lifelong sports fan. He loved the outdoors and contributed generously to various conservation causes, such as the NRDC and Sierra Club. He’d been member of St. Gabriel’s Parish since 1956.

Rest in peace, Joe. We know you have been reunited with your beloved sister, Martha. Joe’s big, strong heart (held together by love and bacon) didn’t want to give up, but in the end, it wasn’t his nemesis modern packaging that did him in (he often said it would be the death of him) but the Covid-19 virus. In lieu of flowers, the family recommends donations to the Sierra Club or Doctors Without Borders.