John W. Weaver II, founder and former managing principal of Weaver Consultants Group in Chicago, has died at 66 in a tragic plane crash that also claimed the lives of his sons John III, 40, and Matthew, 38.
Weaver, P.E., M.ASCE, was born in Elkhart, Indiana, where his father had been mayor. He got an early jump on his career while still in sixth grade, as a survey rodman. Before he knew it, Weaver was soon laying out subdivisions and designing sewer systems.
After receiving bachelor’s and masters degrees in civil and geotechnical engineering from Purdue University, he and his wife, Linda, committed two years to milking cows on the Weaver family farm in Shipshewana, Indiana, which has been in the family for more than 150 years. The couple learned valuable lessons about the nature of wealth and challenge.
After helping his parents, Weaver began his civil engineering career in earnest. He joined ATEC Associates, an environmental engineering firm, and rose to vice president and Chicago regional manager. In 1991, he launched Weaver Consultants Group. Over the course of his 25 years of leadership, the firm expanded to become industry leaders. Today, the company – which includes affiliates Landmarc Environmental Systems, Anchor Construction, and Sligo Systems – has 19 offices and more than 450 employees across the country.
Weaver also earned a juris doctor degree from Loyola University Chicago School of Law. In 2012, Purdue honored him with its Civil Engineering Alumni Achievement Award.
A Life Member of ASCE, Weaver was known as a generous man who cared deeply for the employees and clients of the Weaver group.
Among his passions were fishing, beekeeping, smoking meats, teasing his grandchildren, and cheering on the Blackhawks and Cubs. In addition to his wife, Weaver is survived by a daughter, six grandchildren, a sister and a brother.
Hello,
My name is Mary Carol Murphy. I work for Weaver Consultants Group, and I was John’s Executive Assistant for the past four years. Thank you for writing this piece. It really tells John’s story how we knew and loved him. Currently, we’re renovating John’s office into the John Weaver Memorial Library. It’ll be a social gathering/meeting space filled with all of John’s books and photography from his son, Johnny. I was hoping we would be able to obtain an original print of this story. Our plan is to frame it and hang it in the library.
Do you know who I can contact about this?
Thanks,
Mary Carol