In Memory . . . Rev. Peter Weller (1926-2008)

It is with a sense of loss that the Ministry and Professional Leadership Staff Group inform you of the death of the Reverend Peter Weller.

He died on January 22, 2008 at his home in Fort Collins, Colorado. He was 81.The Rev. Peter Weller was born on February 10, 1926 in Holland, Michigan, the son of Peter Weller, Sr. and Gertrude Weller who had emigrated from the Netherlands. Mr. Weller received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in 1948. After serving in both the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Army, he decided to become a Unitarian minister at the age of 26. Mr. Weller received his M. Div. from the Starr King School for the Ministry in Berkeley, CA in 1957.

Mr. Weller served Unitarian Universalist congregations in Laconia, New Hampshire; Seattle, Washington; Hanska, Minnesota; Muskegan, Michigan; and Pittsfield, Massachusetts. In Pittsfield, he ministered for 12 years and was honored with the status of Minister Emeritus. He then served as interim minister in Birmingham, Alabama and Bloomington, Indiana. 

A longtime advocate of peace and justice, Mr. Weller was active in the civil rights movement and marched in Selma with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He was also active with the anti-war movement during the Vietnam era and recently served on the board of the United Nations Association in Fort Collins, CO where he was a member of the Foothills Unitarian Church. Mr. Weller was also an active participant in the Unitarian Universalist Ministers’ Association where he was respected as a “gentle, kind presence.”

Mr. Weller married Carol Reed Weller in 1958. She preceded him in death in 1973. 

He then married Jennie Parker Weller in 1977. Survivors include his wife, Jennie Parker Weller of Fort Collins; three daughters, Cathleen Hamilton (Oakland, NJ), Julia Smith (Fairbanks, Al), and Gretchen Weller (Fort Collins, CO); five stepchildren, Marian Ware (Amherst, MA), Carl Hildebrandt (Pittsburgh, PA), Janet Hildebrandt (Boulder, CO), Jay Hilt (Burbank, CA), Lisabeth Almgren (Tucson, AZ), seventeen grandchildren, and six great- grandchildren. He is also survived by his three brothers, John, Peter Anthony “Tony,” and Hubert “Herb” Weller, all of Holland, Michigan. 

A memorial service will be held at a later date at Foothills Unitarian Church. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to Foothills Unitarian Church, 1815 Yorktown Avenue, Fort Collins, Colorado 80526 or the Hospice of Larimer County in care of Bohlender Funeral Chapel, 121 West Olive Street, Fort Collins, Colorado 80524. 

Please send messages of remembrance to the family in care of Bohlender Funeral Chapel, 121 West Olive Street, Fort Collins, Colorado 80524.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *