Robert Foster Weir
WEIR, JAMES, BONNELL
Posted By: Sarah Fletcher (email)
Date: 12/23/2021 at 14:07:04
Robert Foster Weir, 78, of Iowa City, died Monday, December 20 at Oaknoll Retirement Residence.
A memorial service will be held at 11 am on Monday, December 27, 2021, at First United Methodist Church Iowa City with the Rev. Dr. Barrie Tritle officiating, where visitation will be held prior to the service starting at 10am. Inurnment will be at Oakland Cemetery.
Robert was born January 15, 1943, in Amarillo, Texas, the son of Samuel “Frank” and Rubye Weir, who died soon after his birth. Robert’s father later married Erlene James, who became Mother to “Bobby.”
A resident of Iowa City since 1988, Robert grew up in the panhandle of Texas (in towns including Roscoe, Morton, and Wellington), and received his BA from McMurray College in Abilene, Texas, where he met his wife Jerry. He went on to earn his Master of Divinity from Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, and his PhD in Religious Studies from Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey.
Prior to coming to Iowa, Robert taught at Oklahoma State University in the Religious Studies department and before that, at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. A professor of biomedical ethics until his 2006 retirement, he taught at the University of Iowa’s Carver College of Medicine for 18 years, where he led the biomedical ethics program and held the Richard M. Caplan Endowed Chair in Biomedical Ethics and Medical Humanities. Robert was a pioneer in the field of medical ethics and wrote several books related to the topic, including Ethical Issues in Death and Dying and The Stored Tissue Issue. He loved teaching and excelled at it, receiving numerous teaching awards.
Robert married Geraldine “Jerry” Bonnell on March 27, 1964 in Dallas, Texas, after falling in love during their freshman year at McMurray. They celebrated their 57th wedding anniversary this year. Robert was a devoted and loving husband, father, and grandfather.
He was an active member of First United Methodist Church, where he taught Sunday School for many years. He was a longtime volunteer at the Crisis Center and served on its board. He played clarinet in the New Horizons Band at the Senior Center, and was a volunteer “Reading Grandpa” at Weber Elementary School for 11 years, where he loved to share his joy of reading. Robert always loved to sing (and whistle!), and thoroughly relished being a part of the OakNotes chorus at Oaknoll. He was a ping-pong enthusiast with a lifelong love of any sport with a round ball, especially baseball, basketball, and tennis. He liked travelling and absolutely loved going on Road Scholar adventures with his wife and their delightful granddaughters.
Robert lived his life in gratitude and it was fitting that he was able to celebrate his final Thanksgiving—one of his favorite holidays—surrounded by his whole family, feasting on dinner with homemade pies made by granddaughter Berkeley.
One of Robert’s stated wishes was that people feel comfortable wearing bright, happy colors to his service, because although he dearly loved his life, his family, friends, and community, he’s headed to a better, joyous place.
Survivors include Robert’s wife Jerry; his daughter Melinda Weir and partner (Roberto) of Washington DC; his son Randall Weir and wife (Cristol) of Beaverton, Oregon; and his granddaughters Brooke and Berkeley Weir, who both live in the Pacific Northwest. He was preceded in death by his parents.
Memorial donations may be directed to CommUnity (formerly The Crisis Center), First United Methodist Church, or the Alzheimer’s Association.
Lensing Funeral & Cremation Service
Johnson Obituaries maintained by Cindy Booth Maher.
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