Thurman Craig Weaver

Thurman Craig Weaver, "Craig" to all who knew him, died peacefully the night of July 24, 2025 in Hilton Head, SC, when his heart - so capable of endless bounds of love for others - finally had its final beat at the age of 82.

Craig was born in Anniston, Alabama in 1943 to Thurman and Mary Alice (Green) Weaver. His parents split when he was a toddler, and while he and his father rekindled a relationship when he was an adult, Craig was raised primarily by his mom and doting aunt, Elizabeth "Bibba" Green. It was there in the caves and mountains of northern Alabama where his deep love for nature, adventure, and wild places was born. Undeterred by the occasional encounter with an angry landowner at gunpoint or a mama bear and cub eating an entire week's worth of backpacking food in one night, he had more adventures by the age of 18 than many of us have in a lifetime.

Growing up in the segregated Deep South also shaped his heart, mind, and spirit on justice and the possibility and promise of the Beloved Community. After graduating with honors from the University of Alabama and starting graduate school at the University of Colorado-Boulder studying geology, he was called to change course and attend seminary at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. He and his then-wife, Camilla "Cam" (Bolin) were at Union during an auspicious time, when young people all over the country were rising up in the name of racial justice inspired by the leadership of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, who they saw deliver his famous "Beyond Vietnam" speech in person at Riverside Baptist Church. His faith in God and worldview were led by the core belief that we are all God's children and deserving of love, grace, and mercy, without exception.

Craig had a forty-plus year career as a psychotherapist and pastoral counselor, which he built in Charlotte, NC where he and Cam raised their children before he later moved to his beloved North Carolina mountains. For a number of years, he worked longer hours Monday through Thursday so that he could take off work earlier on Fridays, pick up his kids from school, and take them to order milkshakes at the drive-through, ordered one at a time: "One milkshake please." "That will be $1.89. Anything else?" "Yes, another milkshake please" "That will be $2.98. Anything else?" "Yes, one more milkshake" "That will be…" in classic dad fashion which his children found terribly embarrassing and terribly funny.

Craig's love of the mountains and beautiful places in nature was unparalleled. Without fail, at the beginning of any Paramount movie with the old photographed Mt Everest logo, he would lean over and say with complete sincerity "Mmm! Isn't that beautiful?!", and his exclamations of scenic wonder on family road trips may have led one or more members of the family to learn how to say "Oh yes, wow!" from the backseat without taking their eyes off their book. For as long as his body allowed it, he delighted in hiking and backpacking with friends and family. He especially found joy in annual trips with the Senior Men' s Bible Class of the Hanging Dog Church of God*. He never lost the ability to look at the same mountain many times with new, awe-struck eyes.

Craig loved people most of all. He was a loving, proud, and doting father and loved his grandchildren beyond measure. He was preceded in death by his loving wife, Beth Cleland Weaver, who he met contra dancing and charmed by driving three hours to deliver her a fresh cut Christmas tree. Craig is survived by his first wife and mother of his children Camilla Cover; his children Gaines Weaver (Mora Velazquez) and Jennifer Weaver (David Neal); stepchildren Justin Pride and Meg (Courtney) Stephens, grandchildren Cyrus Neal, Rosa Lu Neal, Ishmael and Lilly Percy, Makayla Pride, Aria, Eden, Remi, and Luxe Pride, and dear companion Judy Baker.

Craig loved living this life, despite the trials and heartbreak we all endure if we are lucky enough to live a long life. He laughed so much, cried easily, and let people know he loved them.

We know that he will always be with us, in the hawk arcing across the sky, in the butterfly drinking from the joe pye weed, in the great spirit that connects all life. But we will still miss him so very much.

A celebration of life will be held at a later date. Details will be shared when available. In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to the Conservation Trust for North Carolina or the F.A.R.M. Cafe in Boone, NC.

*Not affiliated with any real church of the same name.