John Robert Weiss

John left our earthly realm to live in eternity with Jesus early Tuesday morning after a long struggle with various heart issues. A celebration of his life is scheduled at Gracepoint Church at 5590 NE 6th Avenue in Ft. Lauderdale on May 15th, 2021 followed by a reception in the fellowship hall 3:00-5:00 P.M.

John was a native Floridian, and he lived his entire life in Ft. Lauderdale except for a couple of years in La Jolla, CA. He grew up in western Broward County just outside of Davie on the Diamond W Ranch (much of Weston is built on the former ranch land) where he showed quarter horses as a teenager on the Silver Dollar Circuit, winning a blue ribbon in pleasure class on Compton Sonny Boy. As a boy he was a strong athlete and excelled at swimming, the softball throw, and keeping his brothers consistently on their toes. He attended Pine Crest and Miami Country Day School before spending four years in prep school at The Asheville School for Boys where he won numerous prizes for baseball, soccer, football, dramatics, and Latin. After attending Washington University in St. Louis for a year, he returned to Ft. Lauderdale and graduated from Florida Atlantic University.

John was a veteran of the mortgage industry, starting at Southern Federal Savings and eventually founding Secondary Marketing Strategies which he successfully led for many years both in the secondary mortgage market and as a mortgage broker to select developers and institutions.

John came to know his Lord and Savior in 1989 after attending the Fort Lauderdale Christmas Pageant when an Evangelism Explosion (EE) team (Bill Davell and Jim Denman) knocked on his door. Shortly thereafter he became actively involved in the same choir that performed in the pageant and the next year and following years participated in the pageant both singing and as one of the 12 apostles. John put feet to his faith by learning to share it in EE and then becoming a trainer so he could lead others to Christ. He became a member and served as a deacon at both First Baptist Church of Fort Lauderdale and then Gracepoint Church.

John joined the Christian Business Men's Connection and for years was responsible for selecting the speakers and working with them so that their personal testimonies were clear and impactful. He attended and was on the board of the SE CBMC Conference at Lake Junaluska, NC. In 2003 John was one of the founders of a men's Bible study which has grown and continues to meet weekly until this day. He was in the first class of Lifework Leadership, remained active as a trainer and enjoyed a role picking up and entertaining the speakers as the came to town.

John's family and friends were continually amazed at the purity and generosity of his heart and by his non-judgmental character. While John was affectionately known by many names such as Grumpa, Honest John, and John the Baptist he will forever be remembered and loved as a compassionate, kind, humorous and true friend and brother.

John was preceded in death by his angelic wife of forty-seven years, Ellen Kay Elam Weiss who graduated to heaven in 2018, his mother Sylvia Queen Weiss (1919-2002), father Myron Marcel Weiss (1905-1984), brother William Weylock (1946-2015). He is survived by his sons Charlie (Tarah) Palm Beach, FL and Andy (Sara) Yorktown, VA, brothers Mike (84) in Carmel, IN and Tom (70) in Knoxville, TN, and grandchildren Jackson (9), Matilda (5), and Grover (3) for whom he was their beloved Grumpa.

In honor and remembrance of John, please consider donating to his favorite charities:

HOPE WOMEN'S CENTERS - https://secure.egsnetwork.com/donate/14DC646E3C1A46D

CBMC - https://bit.ly/3xVsAHR

LIVE STREAM of the service can be viewed here:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4dj2RJ2OoA9NtstikW-bZQ