WALTER PARKER WEAVER

WALTER PARKER WEAVER, 80
College Professor/Minister

LAKELAND - Rev. Dr. Walter P. Weaver, 80, of Lakeland, Florida passed away on February 18, 2014, following a courageous battle with cancer.
Walter was born in Elkin, North Carolina, in 1934, to Dr. and Mrs. L. Stacy Weaver, both distinguished educators. Walter graduated from Durham High School in 1952. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Duke University (1956). As an undergraduate, Walter sang in the Duke Men's Glee Club; he had a beautiful baritone voice. After Duke, Walter married his high school sweetheart and moved to Massachusetts where he served in the Navy for the next two years assigned to the Office of Naval Research in Boston. Walter and his family returned to Durham in 1958 and he entered the Duke Divinity School where he received the Bachelor of Divinity degree (1962). He continued his formal education at Drew University, NJ, completing the Ph.D. degree in New Testament Studies (1968). As a student in seminary, Walter served as a pastor of Methodist churches in North Carolina and in New Jersey. Following completion of his doctorate, Walter accepted a position as Chaplain and Assistant Professor of Religion at Greensboro College in Greensboro, North Carolina. In 1972, Walter and his family moved to Lakeland where he served with distinction as Professor of Religion, Florida Southern College, until his retirement in 1997. At Florida Southern, Walter was Chair of the Department of Religion and Philosophy, and Chair of the Humanities Division. In 1989, he was named to the prestigious Pendergrass Chair in Religion. His courses in New Testament inspired countless students to pursue seminary and graduate studies in Religion. Walter proudly counts as his students, many current pastors of United Methodist Churches in the Florida Conference. His leadership in the Department of Religion and Philosophy brought national and international scholars to Lakeland to participate in Symposiums and Seminars. Walter was a respected and beloved teacher, as well as a superb scholar who made significant contributions to New Testament scholarship. Although he published numerous articles and books, he left his mark in biblical research with the widely-acclaimed publication of The Historical Jesus in Twentieth Century. 1900-1950, (Trinity Press, International, 1999). While away from his teaching and research, Walter was an avid golfer, a computer/technology hound, and an irascible (and frequently irrational) follower of Duke basketball.
Dr. Weaver is survived by his wife of fifty-seven years, Peggy, three children, Walter Jr., and his wife Ellie, Katherine W. Holland, and Laura W. Slocumb and her husband Sid, four grandchildren, Jeffrey Weaver, Scott Weaver, Shane Holland, and Kelsey Whitt, and one great-grandchild, Maverick Weaver, all of Lakeland, Florida. Walter is also survived by two brothers, Dr. Charles Weaver and his wife Nancy of Raleigh, North Carolina, and Dr. Stacy Weaver and his wife Carolyn of Fayetteville, North Carolina, and a sister-in-law, Mrs. Jean Thompson, of Lakeland. He was preceded in death by both of his parents.
A celebration of Walter's life will be held on Saturday, February 22, 10 AM at First United Methodist Church in Lakeland. A private burial will be held at a later date. The family cordially invites all of Walter's friends, colleagues, and former students to join them in this affirmation of life and its possibilities. Donations maybe made in his honor to Good Shepherd Hospice.