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Elinor Mae VanValkenburgh Weaver
Elinor Mae VanValkenburgh Weaver died on February 27, 2022.
The daughter of Charles and Glady (Wakefield) Van Valkenburgh, she was born on
April 17, 1922, in Cairo, New York.
Elinor grew up in Cairo and West Kill, in the Catskill Mountains of New York,
where she graduated from Hunter-Tannersville High School in June of 1939.
In September of 1939, Elinor began attending Plattsburgh University, New York,
where she majored in Home Economics. During her junior year in college, Elinor
married John Weaver, an army sergeant, and moved with him to Fayettesville,
North Carolina where he was stationed. When John was sent into combat in Africa
and Europe, she moved back to New York where she lived in the town of Olean.
Here Elinor worked in an army defense plant and awaited her husband's return.
The daughter of Charles and Glady (Wakefield) Van Valkenburgh, she was born on
April 17, 1922, in Cairo, New York. Thomas Lee Weaver, was born in May of 1946.
Sheila Lynn Weaver arrived in October,, 1949.
Living on a farm outside of Plumville, Elinor became involved in church and
community activities. For a number of years, she was president of the Plumville
Presbyterian Women's Association and taught Sunday school. She was also a cub
scout, a boy scout, and a girl scout leader. A member of the Plumville PTA, she
served as its president for several years.
When the children were old enough to go to school, Elinor began substitute
teaching (on a special two-year certification) for the Marion Center School
District. Deciding to complete her teaching degree, Elinor attended the Indiana
University of Pennsylvania, graduating in 1964 with a degree in Home Economics
Education and was awarded her M.A. degree the very next year.
In the fall of 1964, she formally began her teaching career in public education
when she accepted a position at Dayton High School. Mrs. Weaver went on to teach
at Dayton High School, Worthington High School, and Ford City High School. She
completed her public high school teaching career at Kittanning Senior High
School, retiring in 1987. She would then go on to teach at the Indiana
University of Pennsylvania for the following three years.
During many of her teaching years, Mrs. Weaver participated in the Pennsylvania
Education Association and served as president of the Armstrong Education
Association for three terms. She led her fellow teachers during some of their
most tumultuous years, as they chose to strike on several occasions.
She had moved to Kittanning to be closer to her teaching assignments, and soon
was involving herself in borough politics. A representative of Ward I, Elinor
served on Town Council for twelve years and was its president for a brief time.
She was particularly interested in moving the town forward while attempting to
preserve what was of historic and aesthetic value in the community. She was
especially proud of the part she played in the successful renovation of
Kittanning's riverfront park.
Elinor Weaver was a very talented woman with many interests. She was an avid
gardener. She was an animal lover who had a number of pets. She designed clothes
and was an accomplished seamstress. She also created beautiful panels of
stitchery with which she gifted her friends and which she was often asked to
sell. She loved to travel and traveled to Europe three times, the highlight of
her travels being a visit to Valkenburgh, the area in Holland that had been the
home of her ancestors. For a number of years after her retirement, Elinor sold
antiques in Kittanning and Indiana. Interior decorating, another of her
interests, led to occasional consulting work. Elinor Weaver was a busy woman.
She was also a surrogate grandmother "Mimi" to her good friends Darlene and
Roger Costanzo's children, Ryan and Kate.
She was preceded in death by her sister, Ina Van Valkenburgh and her son, Thomas
Lee Weaver.
She spent her last years with her daughter, Sheila, in Florida.
Donations in Elinor's memory may be made to the Kittanning Public Library, 280
N. Jefferson St., Kittanning PA 16201 or Orphans of the Storm, 11878 PA-85,
Kittanning PA 16201. |
