William David Weller

Weller, a former Adjutant General for Colorado, Department of Military Affairs, was born March 4, 1919 in Delta Colorado to William Harlan Weller and Luna Weller at their home in Delta.

Will was a teacher in Delta at the time, but the Weller family, including his father, had homesteaded in the late 1800’s nine miles south of Wray, Colorado, and was well represented in the Wray community. After teaching in several small communities, during the summer of 1929, Will moved his family to the family farm and they became farmers of the Weller property there. Will also became the teacher of the small school near the farm house and David and his sister and brother became pupils in this small, one room, eight pupil school.

To begin High School, David was invited to live with his mother’s parents, the William D. Teegarden family in their home in Trinidad, Colorado and attend Trinidad High School where his mother had schooled earlier. David graduated from Trinidad High School in 1936. He also attended Trinidad State Junior College for two years and Colorado School of Mines for another year.

While he attended Junior College he was employed by the Fox West Theater as the doorman and later as Assistant Manager. In the summer of 1939 he visited with a college friend in Telluride, Colorado and became an employee of The Western Colorado Power Company. He worked there on the flume maintenance crew and as a lineman’s helper until he enlisted as a private in the Colorado National Guard until the Durango unit was inducted into federal service on February 24, l941, just prior to the beginning of World War II.

There he served as a private and later as a sergeant in the survey section of Headquarters Battery 1st Battalion, 168th Field Artillery stationed at Camp Roberts, California.

After finishing Officer Candidate School at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, Sergeant Weller was commissioned a 2nd. Lieutenant on August 4, 1942 where he was assigned to The Field Artillery Replacement Training Center at Fort Sill. There he assisted in training cannoneers for a year.

2nd Lt Weller, on leave, and Virginia Irene Robinson were married on August 6, 1942 in her church home in Telluride, Colorado. He and Virginia, his new bride, rented an apartment, a converted garage, in Lawton, Oklahoma, just adjacent to Fort Sill, and began their life together.

1st Lieutenant Weller then was assigned to the 862nd Field Artillery Battalion of the 63rd Infantry Division then stationed at Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi. The 63rd Infantry Division was a newly formed division in September 1943 with the mission to train soldiers for combat in the European Theater. It was to be manned by new recruits, some with individual training, and they were to train them and their units for combat employment.

Captain Weller became the commanding officer for Battery B and later Headquarters Battery of the 862nd Field Artillery Battalion. His battery, part of the 63rd Infantry Division, embarked from New York harbor the 2nd of January 1945 for Marseille, France. The division fought from France and across Germany in 120 days of continuous combat, across the Saar River, through the Siegfried Line, across the Rhine River and Germany to Landsberg, where combat ended for the Division and his battery, just short of the border with Austria. The war in Europe was declared ended May 8, 1945 and the 63rd Division became part of the Army of Occupation.

After several short assignments and delays Captain Weller was separated from service with the Army on December 7, 1945 at Fort Logan, Colorado, where he was re-united with his wife and family. He retained his commission in the U. S. Army Reserve.

Within a month Weller returned to employment with The Western Colorado Power Company in Montrose, Colorado as an estimator – draftsman. Through thirty some years, he worked as an engineer in Montrose, District Representative in Durango, Colorado and General Superintendent charged with all operations of the Company with his office in Montrose. His ability to visualize, organize, and supervise were quickly recognized by his associates both on the job and in the community in which he lived and worked. He and Virginia and their family lived a full life in each of those communities.

He retired as an employee of The Western Colorado Power Company in July 1974 to accept appointment by the Governor as the Adjutant General of Colorado, responsible for the operations of The Colorado Air National Guard and the Colorado Army National Guard, and as the Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Military Affairs. This assignment also made him the Director of the Colorado Division of Disaster Emergency Services.

After service in World War II, when the Colorado Army National Guard was again activated in 1948, He had re-joined the Guard as a Captain, commanding Company M of the 1st Battalion, 157th Infantry, in Montrose. After several assignments and promotions, Colonel Weller retired in 1971 as the Chief of Staff of the Colorado Army National Guard. On August 1, 1974, at the request of the Governor of Colorado, he was recalled from the retired list, commissioned a Brigadier General and appointed as the Adjutant General overseeing both the Colorado Army National Guard and the Colorado Air National Guard. Major General Weller served in this capacity until he retired July 31, 1979. He and Virginia and their family made their home in Lakewood, Colorado.

For his service with the United States Army, General Weller received these awards and decorations: The Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Army Commendation Medal, American Defense Service Medal, American Campaign Medal, European Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, Army of Occupation Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal with hourglass, Colorado Long Service Medal and the Colorado Meritorious Service Medal.

General Weller was a Registered Professional Engineer in Colorado. He had a long term interest in community affairs, having served as President of the Montrose Junior Chamber of Commerce; Commander, B. A. B. Post #73 American Legion in Montrose, and District Adjutant; Post Advisor and District Commissioner, Boy Scouts of America; Director and Secretary, San Juan Basin Rodeo Association; Director and President, Board of Education, School District 9R, Durango, Colorado; Regional Vice President, Colorado Association of School Boards; Director and President, Durango Chamber of Commerce; Director, Navajo Trails Association; Director, San Juan Development Corporation; Director, La Plata County United Fund; Director and President, Montrose Industrial Development Corporation; Director and President Uncompahgre Investments, Inc.; A member of the Accountability Advisory Committee, School District RE1J in Montrose. He had served as Regional Vice President of the Adjutant Generals Association of the United States; had been a member of the National Association of State Directors of Disaster Preparedness; and of the Colorado Civil Defense Association.

After his retirement as the Adjutant General, General Weller enjoyed becoming an active member of The Littleton Gem and Mineral Club and the Denver Gem and Mineral Guild. He became an avid collector of minerals and an expert faceter and worker in stone jewelry materials. He served in the sponsoring committee for the annual Denver Gem, Mineral and Fossil Show. He was awarded plaques for competitions sponsored by The Greater Denver Area Gem and Mineral Council for the Best of Cabochons – 1992, Best of Faceted Synthetic Stones – 1996, Best of Faceted Stones - 1998. He was awarded a Life Membership in the Littleton Gem and Mineral Club in 1993. He enjoyed teaching others in performing lapidary arts and created many jewelry pieces for family and friends.

He served in the congregations of a Christian Church in the communities where they lived, most recently and at the time of his passing, he was a member of the Green Mountain Christian Church in Lakewood, Colorado. His remains are with those of his deceased wife, Virginia, at the Crown Hill Cemetery in Lakewood.

General Weller and Virginia were blessed with four children, all living and working today in the Denver area. Joan Turnell, Dave Weller, Jr. and his wife Vicki, Jim Weller and his wife Ginny and Ron Weller and his wife Madeleine. Dave and Virginia had six grandchildren and six great grandchildren.

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