Frank E Weber

Frank Weber was a devoted husband to Margaret; father to Gay Lee (Mike) and Janette (Cory); and grandfather to Kyle (Jaime), Gabe (Michelle) and Sarah; and great-grandfather to Ella (Kyle and Jaime). He was a decent and honorable man who placed family above all else. Frank was known as a gentleman at the adult family home where he received care for the last two and a half years. He worked hard his entire life.

Frank was the ninth child in a family of ten children born to George and Maud (Hartman) Weber. He grew up in the Delphi Valley during the Depression, hunting, fishing and roaming freely with his brothers and sisters and childhood friends from the area.

During World War Two, Frank served in Army Transport and traveled by ship to Japan and the Aleutian Islands. Later, he worked on ocean-going tugboats. After the war, Frank worked at logging. Eventually, he got a job driving a hop truck for the Olympia Brewery, which led to a 30 year career in production at the brewery. This job enabled him to provide a full and happy life for his family.

Frank had the heart of a naturalist. He loved trees, and planted hundreds of fir and cedar saplings on his property. He loved to pick wild, native blackberries which were made into delicious pies and jams by his wife, Margaret. Frank built several birdhouses so that birds, especially the swallows, would have a place to nest. He knew the names and characteristics of many native species of plants and animals from the Pacific Northwest.

Frank had a special fondness for the wilderness around the Black Hills. As a child, he hunted in the hills with his brothers and was able to help provide venison for the large family. In his final years, he could still point out an area of the Black Hills that he called ‘The Gap’, where he spent a good part of his days when he was young. Once, he bought a 1932 Chevy pickup he called Blue Lightning, that he used to drive all over those hills finding wood ‘shows’ and wild blackberry patches, the locations of which were always kept a secret!

In the Black Lake community, Frank was known to raise a beautiful garden, a skill he learned from his mother. He could be seen hoeing his garden in the early morning before heading off to work. Our family was fortunate to enjoy fresh vegetables every day in the summer, and canned vegetables and fruit all winter.

Frank also was talented at cabinet making, and building. He, and Margaret, worked as a team during the evenings and weekends building cabinets for several homes in the area. They also designed and built their own home on Black Lake. His daughter, Jan, remembers that he built her a tiny water wheel once while playing by a creek near Lake Chelan…Just simply started carving it and there it was!

Margaret and Frank made several trips to Anchorage, Alaska to visit their daughter, Gay Lee, son-in-law Mike, and grandson, Kyle. Mike remembers a fun trip he was able to make with Frank, and Mike’s good friend Gary, when they fished for halibut and dug for Alaska’s huge razor clams. Frank loved Alaska’s wildness.

Frank made his family’s life abundant. He spent hours towing his water-skiing daughters behind his boat on Black Lake. Vacations were spent salmon fishing on the Straits of Juan de Fuca; crab and shrimp fishing on Hood Canal; and quick trips to gather oysters and dig razor clams. Up to a certain point in his life, he enjoyed hunting in the Lake Chelan area, but eventually, he decided that he just could not bear to shoot another deer…a testimony to how much he loved God’s creatures.

Frank was a quiet man, with a dry sense of humor, and when he told a story, you listened. He will be so missed by his family and friends, but we are all comforted by the memories we share.

Interment will take place on May 9th at 1:00 pm at the Delphi Pioneer cemetery located on Waddell Creek road.

A celebration of Frank’s life will be held at Albee’s Garden Parties located at 4127 20th Ln NW in Olympia (just off Overhulse road) at 3:00 pm

Donations can be made to the Delphi Pioneer Cemetery in honor of Frank Weber; or to the Alzheimer’s Association at Alz.org.