Giuseppe Federico Weber

1934 - 2021

Giuseppe Federico Weber

Cedar Grove - May 5, 1934 - January 2, 2021

It is with heavy heart that we announce the passing of Giuseppe Federico Weber, 86, of Cedar Grove, N.J., into Eternal Life. After a long illness, he passed away peacefully at home surrounded by his family. Visitation was at Shook's Cedar Grove Funeral Home, 486 Pompton Ave., Cedar Grove on Friday, January 8th. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated at Saint Catherine of Siena Church, Cedar Grove, on Saturday, January 9th followed by interment at Immaculate Conception Cemetery in Upper Montclair, N.J.

Giuseppe was born in Milan, Italy to a Swiss father, Guido Weber and an Italian mother, Ines Ebridi. Giuseppe and his only sister, Marisa, were both active in the Church youth group and hiking club. During that time, Giuseppe climbed several peaks in the Alps among them Mont Blanc (4,800 m) and Monte Rosa (4,400 m) always in the company of his best friend, Lino. He loved the arts especially opera, classical music, and Italian Alpine folk songs. His love of singing started in Italy where he was part of an acapella boy's and later men's choir. He played the violin at church and in local concerts accompanied on the piano by his sister.

Since his family maintained their Swiss citizenship, in the 50's they moved to Switzerland, where the job opportunities were better. Giuseppe was initially employed at CIBA in Basel as an analytical chemist and later at Hoffmann-La Roche in Basel, in the field of medical research, commuting weekends to Zurich to be with family. Missing his Italian half, he was very involved with the Italian Mission Church in Zurich, guided by Salesian Priests, volunteering most of his free time to assist with the church's works. It was in the young adult spiritual group that Giuseppe met his wife, Nada Slavec. They married on October 15th, 1966 and later were blessed with two children.

In 1970, Giuseppe was offered a research position at Hoffmann-La Roche in Nutley, N.J. He accepted and relocated his family to the US. He worked during the day and attended classes at night earning his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Rutgers University in Newark in 1978. He spent the majority of his career at Hoffmann-La Roche until his retirement in 1998, with research projects involving finding cures for psoriasis, anti-inflammatory processes and developing retinoids with anti-cancer property. He was a member of the American Chemical Society and an author and co-author of several patents in the US and abroad.

Giuseppe was a humble man of devout faith, a loving husband and father, a quiet man with a welcoming smile. A long-time parishioner of St. Catherine's, he was a member of the Church choir for many years. He will be greatly missed by his family and numerous friends in America and around the world.

He is preceded by his parents, Ines and Guido, his sister, Marisa, and his son-in-law, Frank. He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Nada, and their children, Renata Vanja Weber and Guido Stefan Weber.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Cure Alzheimer's Fund, curealz.org, St. Catherine of Siena Heritage Fund, or a charity of your choosing.