July 6, 1928 - December 10, 2018
Don Weber passed away peacefully in San Antonio on December 10, 2018, surrounded by family and friends following a brief battle with cancer. He enjoyed 90 extraordinary years of life as a businessman, philanthropist, vintage car enthusiast, sailor, sportsman, husband, father, grandfather and cherished friend to many people around the world.

He was born to Marie and George Weber, parents he adored, on July 6, 1928, and spent his early childhood moving around the country, as his father built a career in the depression-era oil field. Don graduated from high school in Detroit, Michigan and attended Maryville College in Tennessee before being drafted into the Army during the Korean Conflict. He completed basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Kentucky and advanced infantry training in Hawaii. He qualified for Officer Candidate School and returned to Fort Benning in Georgia for officer training. Eventually, he joined the 198th Battalion of the 1st Armored Division as a young first lieutenant and company commander.

Following his military service, Don completed his undergraduate and MBA degrees at the University of Texas at Austin in 1955. He worked for Tenneco for several years before striking out on his own as an independent land man. In collaboration with several geologist partners in Colorado, he pioneered the exploration and production of natural gas in the San Juan Basin of the Four Corners region.

Don moved to Corpus Christi in 1963 where he remained for 25 years. During this time, he was instrumental in establishing the first public broadcasting station in South Texas-KEDT-serving as its first Chairman of the Board. He was then invited to join the PBS Board. Next in 1979, Don was the Founding Chairman of National Captioning Institute for the Hearing Impaired (NCI) in Washington D.C., and helped NCI develop and establish closed captioning to improve access to communications for the deaf and hearing impaired. He served as NCI's Chairman for more than 15 years and remained active as a board member until his death. Don was an avid sailor and also served as Commodore of the Corpus Christi Yacht Club. Long before Don left Corpus Christi, he was asked to serve on the Transportation Board of the Witte Museum and spent many years consulting with procurements.

Don moved to San Antonio in 1985 after meeting and falling in love with Mimi (Beach). Mimi and Don's 35-year love affair took them around the world on wonderful trips, cruises and car adventures. Their time in San Antonio revolved around family and friends with celebrations at their clubs, as well as the infamous Monday Lunch Bunch. Don and Mimi also spent peaceful times together at their weekend home in the Hill Country.

Don's passion for performance automobiles was legendary. For 19 years, he was thrilled to be invited to judge antique automobiles and Porsches at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. He drove his Bentley team car, originally owned by W. O. Bentley, at the Le Mans racetrack in France, where it was first raced by Mr. Bentley in 1925. Don later raced it several times at the Monterrey Speedway and broke speed records for "1000 miles in a day" in a pre-1930's car. He also traversed North America in his 1914 Packard. More recently, Don enjoyed driving in events like the Colorado Grand and Texas 1000, enjoying the camaraderie of fellow enthusiasts, providing colorful stories and expert advice to anyone who might have asked. Don raced his final race, at the age of 88, driving his red Alfa Romeo at Laguna Seca. He was extremely proud to say that he didn't finish first, but he didn't finish last.

Don is preceded in death by his parents, Marie and George Weber, and his son George Esch Weber.

Don is survived by his loving wife, Mimi Weber; his sons Richard Weber (Lynette) and Ben Hammond (Margaret); daughters Caroline Weber Menold (Christopher) and Atlee Weber McCauley; grandchildren William and Clara, Madeline, Millie and George, and Elizabeth, all who affectionately called him Big.

A celebration of Don's life will be held at Christ Episcopal Church on December 19th at 10:00 A.M. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions be made in Don's memory to Christ Episcopal Church, 510 Belknap Place, San Antonio, TX 78212 or Friends of NCI, National Captioning Institute, 3725 Concorde Parkway, Suite 100, Chantilly, VA 20151 or a charity of choice.

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Published by San Antonio Express-News on Dec. 16, 2018.

Memories and Condolences
for Donald Weber

Sponsored by Porter Loring Mortuary McCullough.

5 Entries

Richard Langworth

January 17, 2019

My account of our 1976 trip with Don up Pikes Peak in his antique Packard Six (mentioned above) is published on my website:

https://richardlangworth.com/don-weber-pikes-peak

Correction: the Packard was a 1914 not 1913 model.

L B

January 5, 2019

To the family, you have my sincere condolences. When someone falls asleep in death (Ecclesiastes 9: 5,10) the memories we have of them become our most precious treasure. May those memories comfort you as well as Gods promise at John 6:40.

Dana Freehauf

December 31, 2018

Seeing your sweet face at Cheesy Jane's and having our conversations meant so much to me. The way you loved life, and your beautiful wife, was such an inspiration to me. I will never forget you Mr. Weber, and you will always be in my heart. Rest In Peace my friend...

December 18, 2018

Don was a dear man, and our trip up Pikes Peak in his 1913 Six stands out hair-raisingly in my memory. His determination to get to the bottom of the 1912-15 Packard Six history and evolution, exploding prior misinformation, is why the famous Automobile Quarterly Packard book was so good on its history of "The Soft-Spoken Boss of the Road."

Barbara and I were glad to be with Don again in 2016 when he came to my talk at the Vintage Triumph Register convention near Dallas. Although he preferred Italian cars for high speed work, he'd driven out from San Antonio in his Porsche, and not slowly: Don always liked to keep the hammer down. He too was a boss the road.

Arrivederci, Don. Correrai ancor piu veloce per le vie del cielo.

Richard M Langworth CBE
Moulonborough, NH
Senior Fellow, Hillsdale College Churchill Project
winstonchurchill.hillsdale.edu
richardlangworth.com

December 16, 2018

My husband, my children, and I always loved getting to see and visit with Don. Although he was divorced from their aunt, my children always called him "Uncle Don". He will be deeply missed by me, my children, and my husband. Janey Davy Cone

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