Jacob "Jake" Weber

Jacob Weber, 102, of St. Louis, MO passed away on Tuesday, January 29, 2019. Jake was born and raised in Lincoln, Nebraska. In his teenage years, his parents and siblings picked sugar beets in the fields of Nebraska and Wyoming during harvest season. During one of those trips, Jake broke his arm trying to start a truck by turning the hand crank on the front of the truck. In his later teenage years, he worked on car maintenance and installing/repairing car radios. This is probably where his mechanical aptitude first emerged. He would take things apart to find out how they worked.

In 1943 he enlisted into the U.S. Army where he experienced heavy fighting in Italy and possibly France. He was honorably discharged at the rank of Technical Sergeant in 1946. For years after World War II ended, he suffered from terrible nightmares caused by his combat experiences in the war.

After his military service, he worked for Ford Motor Company for several years in Kansas City and then St. Louis. After leaving Ford Motor Company, he started a career in the carpentry trade. He honed his skill to become a Master Carpenter in St. Louis, even performing some of the work involved in the construction of the St. Louis Arch. He used his skill to take a leading role in building his own home for himself, his wife Mary, son Gary, and stepson Tony. Even during his working years, he was always tinkering with or repairing anything mechanical. After retiring from the carpentry trade, his tinkering became his full-time job. He would even go to junk yards to search for parts that he needed for his projects. He also enjoyed passing onto others what he had learned from the many years of working with his hands. He would, at times, get frustrated when they didn’t understand something that was always second nature to him. It was simply in his blood. Even at 102, he was still mowing his yard of nearly 2 acres with his riding mower and welding parts together. Time may have slowed him down, but quit was not in his vocabulary! On his last day, he was working on yet another project when God decided he’d done enough and called him home.

Jake is survived by his son, Gary Weber; stepson, Tony Chaiurro; three sisters, Esther Spencer, Ruth Thompson, and Helen Mossman; and nieces and nephews, Larry Mossman, Christa Mossman, David Spencer, Alan Spencer, Betty Jo Lykken, Diane McLoughlin, Terry Thompson, Donny Thompson, Mary Kjelgaard, Jack Walters, Bill Walters, Tom Weber, Victor Weber, and Helen Bremer. He is also survived by many other extended family members and friends. Jake is preceded in death by his parents, Jacob and Elizabeth (Klamm) Weber; his wife, Mary (Chaiurro) Weber; siblings, Sarah Wachter, Elizabeth Walters, and Victor Weber; nephew, Jim Weber; and niece, Barbara Conway.

Jake’s family is eternally grateful to Ralph & Margie Dubrae and Jessie & Becky Sanders for being such great neighbors and cherished friends. When Jake broke his hip, they tirelessly checked on his well-being, taking him to the places he needed to go, listening to the stories about his life experiences, sharing a home-cooked meal they had prepared or a cup of coffee, and even some light house cleaning. We know Jake appreciated them very much.