Leah Virginia Weiss

Leah was born in 1920, in Tamaqua, PA, to the late John and Esther Lloyd. Following graduation from Tamaqua High School in 1938, she entered Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing in Philadelphia where she earned a nursing degree in 1941. Leah served in the Medical Corps, USNR, from 1943 to 1946. She was honorably discharged at the rank of Lieutenant (JG). In 1945, Leah married Dr. Francis Weiss, a physician and a Lieutenant in the U.S.Navy. After the war, the couple moved to Philadelphia where Francis completed his surgical training while Leah gave birth to two children, Geoffrey and Pamela. In 1950, the family moved once again to Woodbury, New Jersey, where they resided for 22 years. In 1971, Francis and Leah relocated to Bozeman, Montana. Following the death of her husband in 1992, Leah remained a resident of Montana where her talents as a socialite blossomed among a large coterie of friends and associates. She left her beloved Bozeman in 2011 due to diminishing physical capacity and joined her family in Charlottesville, Virginia, residing at The Colonnades until her death.

Leah was known for her ready wit and her ability to crack the flintiest personality. She could draw the most peripheral acquaintances into her circle to become lifelong friends. She was a loving and nurturing mother to her children and a devoted companion to her husband. The loss of her spirit is keenly felt by her family.

In addition to her parents, Leah was preceded in death by her husband, Francis Harold Weiss.

Leah is survived by a son, Geoffrey R. Weiss, MD, and his wife, Martha (Charlottesville, VA); a daughter, Pamela J. Foster (Harrisburg, PA); grandchildren Claire J. Weiss, PhD (Charlottesville, VA) and Mark G. Weiss, Esq. (Washington, DC); sister-in-law Kathryn W. Torgeson (Ithaca, NY) and cousins, Kristina W. Torgeson (Brooklyn, NY), James A. Torgeson (Lockport, NY), Sander D. Torgeson (Portland OR), and Russell Keich (Fountain Hill, PA).

A memorial service will be held in Bozeman, MT, at a later date.

Memorial contributions in Leah’s honor may be made to the University of Virginia Cancer Center.