Burt Weiss

Burt Weiss, a former New York and London-based investment banker who retired with his wife, Nan, to the Chapel Hill area, died Sunday of complications from lung disease. He was 77.
Prior to his retirement, Burt Weiss was a Director of SG Warburg, the London merchant bank, and a Senior Vice President, Director and Member of the Executive Committee of Becker Securities Corp, an affiliate of AG Becker & Co, which he joined in 1954. He rose through the ranks of Becker during the 1960's, joined the Board of Directors in 1968, and in 1974 was a key participant in the formation and leadership of Warburg Paribas Becker. In 1980, he moved to London to join the executive team at SG Warburg.
Born Burton Joseph Weiss in 1930 in Brooklyn, NY to Ben and Matilda Weiss, Burt Weiss spent most of his youth in Harrisburg, PA, where he graduated valedictorian from the Harrisburg Academy. He went on to study history and international affairs at Princeton University, graduating summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from the Woodrow Wilson School in 1952. He was a proud and loyal alumnus. He later dabbled in graduate work at the University of London and Harvard, but left the former to travel the European continent, and the latter to start a career on Wall Street.
In 1955, he married the former Nan Schleisner, also of Harrisburg. Together they had three children, Margot McClellan, a psychotherapist in Pittsburgh, PA, Jennifer Weiss, a representative in the North Carolina state legislature, and Jonathan Weiss, a banker with Wachovia Securities in New York.
A voracious reader, student of history, and lifelong Democrat, Burt Weiss enjoyed his retirement in the Chapel Hill area, to which he and Nan moved in 1988. He was active in local politics, had a keen interest in the University of North Carolina, served on the boards of the Interfaith Council for Social Services and the Fearrington Village Havurah, and volunteered with the Alliance of AIDS Services. He had also served on the Board of Education in Montgomery Township, NJ, where he and Nan reared their children. He traveled extensively, had a great sense of humor, and cherished his family.
In addition to his wife and children, he is survived by six grandchildren, Caroline and Alexis McClellan of Pittsburgh, PA, Max and Anna Hamilton, both of Cary, Emily and Ben Weiss, both of New York City.
The family will hold a private burial service. A memorial service will be held at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Burt's memory to the Interfaith Council for Social Services, 110 West Main Street, Carrboro NC 27510 or the Alliance of AIDS Services, 1700 N. Greensboro St., Carrboro NC 27510.