Thomas Francis Weso

1953 - 2023

Thomas Francis Weso, born July 16, 1953, in Neopit, Wisconsin, died July 14, 2023, in Healdsburg. He is survived by his wife Denise (Dotson) Low-Weso; daughter PEmecewan (Fleuker) Meisel (Joshua) of Lawrence, KS; stepsons David Low (Allison), of Healdsburg and Daniel Low (Meiling) of Washington D.C.; and adopted daughter Diane Willie of Albuquerque; grandchildren Curtis Fleuker, Frances Meisel, Natalie Low, and Aidan Low. Other survivors are his sister Mary Walker-Sanapaw (Al Dick), brother Donovan Walker, and aunt, Nita Perez (Bobby). Other survivors are sister-in-law Jane Ciabattari (Mark) and brother-in-law David Dotson (Ginny). He was born on the Menominee Indian reservation in Wisconsin. He worked over fifteen years in Madison. He attended Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas, and the University of Kansas, where he received a degree in anthropology and a master's degree in Indigenous Global Studies. He taught social sciences at Kansas City area colleges for 20 years. He wrote Good Seeds: A Menominee Indian Food Memoir (Wisconsin Historical Society Press), and Survival Food: North Woods Stories by a Menominee Cook, forthcoming, which will be launched at The 222, November 12, 2023. His Native American Stories for Kids won a Kansas Notable Book Award. He was known for his humor and political insights, especially on social media. Celebration of life at First Congregational Church of Santa Rosa at 2pm on July 23, 2023.