Wayne Weaver
June 17, 1938 – September 30, 2025
Wayne Weaver passed away peacefully at home on September 30, 2025, with his wife Joann by his side. Wayne was a man of many talents and many interests, ranging from his career as a mechanical engineer to bird watching to music and more. He could tell you what the best wines were and how to make really good Christmas toffee.
Wayne was born in Fort Wayne, on June 17, 1938, to Thurman and Alma Weaver and grew up on their farm near Roanoke, Indiana. He graduated from Roanoke High School and Purdue University and had a career as Manager of Corporate Engineering with Dietrich Industries for 32 years.
In 1985, Wayne moved to Porter County from Grabill, Indiana, when he married Joann Holycross Weaver; they lived in Jackson Township for 30 years before moving to Valparaiso. A man of deep faith, Wayne was an active member of the First United Methodist Church; he loved the Lord, his church, his wife and family, and his friends with all of his heart. He served the church on many committees, including as Chairman of the Board of Trustees and METS, a group for older adults he and his wife formed and co-chaired for ten years.
His family will miss his cheerfulness and his ability to fix anything and everything. If something needed fixing, Wayne was the one to call because he could fix anything from a short project that would take a few minutes to one that could take all day. He could mimic bird calls so well that birds answered him. Wayne took his interests to the community as well, such as turning his love of planes into volunteer work as a docent at the Indiana Aviation Museum at the Porter County Regional Airport. It was a great volunteer role for him since he could look up at an airplane and tell you what kind of engine it had and what its destination was based on its flight angle. Play any piece of music from opera to gospel and Wayne was happy; in a museum like the Art Institute of Chicago or the Louvre in Paris, he could spend days losing himself in the art. All of these things made Wayne a joy to have around.
Wayne is survived by his wife Joann; his sisters, Damaris (Larry) Rader and Janice Emley; his children, Jim Weaver and Susan Weaver Jordan; his stepdaughter, Beth (Tony) Crachiolo; his grandchildren, Patrick (Jenny) Jordan and Ashley (Zach) Hobbs; great-grandchildren, Kate, Julia, Jackson, and Mathew Jordan.
A celebration of Wayne’s life, led by Senior Pastor Jared Kendall, will be held on Saturday, October 18, at the First United Methodist Church in Valparaiso, Indiana, at 103 Franklin Street. Visitation is at 10:00; the service will be at 11:00. In lieu of flowers, a donation can be made to the First United Methodist Church for the food bank or to the Porter County Community Foundation.
