William P. Weiss

CHESTER - William P. "Peter" Weiss, of Chester, died Jan. 14, 2014. He was 84 and died in Germantown, N.Y.

He was a resident of Chester, Vermont, for over 40 years.

Weiss was born Nov. 5, 1929, in New York City, the son of Louis and Honi Weiss. He graduated from Harvard College in 1952, and completed medical school at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. Weiss earned a degree in public health at Johns Hopkins University.

He worked as a scientist at the National Institutes of Health and in public health before going into private practice. Weiss was a primary care physician in Springfield, Vermont, from 1974 until his retirement in 2010.

In addition to fixing people, Weiss enjoyed fixing, building and imagining all manner of things. His longest and largest project was the house he designed and built in the Chester woods, where he lived with his family. Weiss was an inveterate collector of the tools of a variety of trades. He participated in the civil rights movement of the 1960s and promoted women's rights through his association with Planned Parenthood. The breadth of his knowledge and interests was impressively diverse and included science, law, history, trees and literature.

He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Joan; his children, Deirdre of Washington, D.C., Geoffrey and Daniel of Los Angeles, David of Germantown, N.Y., and Amy of Accord, N.Y., and seven grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in his name can be made to Planned Parenthood of Northern New England. A memorial get-together will be held May 24, 2014, at 3 p.m. at the longtime home of Peter and Joan Weiss, 1328 Chandler Road, Chester, Vermont.