Kenneth A. Weafer

Published in the Albany Times Union from 6/7/2005 - 6/8/2005.

ALBANY Kenneth A. Weafer, 92, of Albany, passed away peacefully Saturday, June 4, 2005 at Our Lady of Mercy Life Center, Guilderland. He was born February 6, 1913 in Woburn, Mass., the youngest of seven children of Jeremiah and Margaret Sullivan Weafer. His siblings, Raymond, Harold, Leonard, Ronald, Geraldine Kane and Arlene Moeller, also predeceased Mr. Weafer. Mr. Weafer was married to the elegant and graceful, Kathleen Kelly of Stoneham, Mass. in 1944. They enjoyed a loving 42 years of marriage until her untimely passing in 1986. He was the greatly beloved and admired father of Paul L. Weafer (Patricia) and cherished grandfather of Kenneth Collins Weafer and Christine Elizabeth Weafer, all of Albany. Several nieces, nephews and other relatives in the Boston area also survive him. Ken Weafer moved permanently to Albany in 1937 to pitch professionally from 1937 through 1940 with the Albany Senators of the Eastern League. He had been an exceptional pitcher at Woburn High School where he was an original inductee into the school's Hall of Fame. He was named by the Boston Globe to the Greater Boston Area All Scholastic Baseball Team in both his junior and senior years, earning the starting pitcher's assignment in the 1930 All-Star game in Fenway Park. He attended Dean Academy and Duke University where he further excelled as a pitcher. After his junior year at Duke, he traveled extensively with the 1934 Boston Red Sox, pitching batting practice. He was signed to a major league bonus contract for $3500.00 with the Chicago Cubs in 1935, and trained with the Cubs in Catalina Island, Calif. He pitched with the Triple A Toledo Mud Hens of the America Association and the Birmingham Barons of the Southern Association. Mr. Weafer made his only appearance in a major league uniform when he pitched three innings for the Boston Braves against the New York Giants in the Polo Grounds in 1936. Troubled by a sore arm, he still managed to pitch with success for four years with Albany. He was a lifetime avid Red Sox fan who lived for 86 years in between their 1918 and 2004 World Series Championships. The end of the curse of the Bambino was the thrill of his baseball life. In 1939, he had played in a game against the Babe who homered in his last professional game at Hawkins Stadium. Mr. Weafer was honorably discharged from the Navy as a chief petty officer at the end of World War II. He had served in the Gene Tunney Program designed to maximize the physical fitness of Navy enlistees. After the war, he returned to Albany and worked for over three decades as a well-respected salesman for Rodgers Liquor Co. and Service Liquor Co. For over 25 years, Ken Weafer served his constituents with exceptional dedication as a Democratic Committeeman in his Pine Hills Neighborhood. From 1978 through 1996, Mr. Weafer served as Albany County Director and sealer of weights and measures under County Executives James Coyne, Michael Hoblock and Michael Breslin. He was a member of the Ambrose J. Scully American Legion Post and enjoyed coaching the Post's Legion Baseball Team in 1962 and 1963. He was also a member of the North Albany Legion Post and several other civic organizations. Among many special friends, Mr. Weafer leaves behind two especially dear friends, Lecia Sheridan and Fred Miggans. The Weafer family extends their heartfelt appreciation to the health care staff of the Fatima Unit of Our Lady of Mercy Life Center. For the last 11 months of his life his every physical, emotional and spiritual need was tended to with love, care and compassion. Funeral services Thursday at 10:30 a.m. at St. Vincent de Paul Church, Albany where a Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated. Relatives and friends are invited and may call Thursday morning 8:00 to 10:00 in the the McVeigh Funeral Home, 208 North Allen Street, Albany. Interment will follow the Mass in St. Agnes Cemetery, Menands. Contributions in memory of Kenneth A. Weafer can be made to Our Lady of Mercy Life Center, 2 Mercycare Lane, Guilderland, NY 12084.