Jan. 5, 2011: Campus mourns loss of Janet C. Weis

Dear Colleagues:

All of Bucknell University mourns the passing of a dear friend of our community, Janet C. Weis, on Monday, January 3, 2011. She was 91.

We are deeply saddened by her loss and will be forever grateful as a University for all that she has meant to Bucknell. She, her late husband Sigfried and their family have helped Bucknell and our region in numerous ways. Their leadership, generosity and loyalty to our University include years of service on our Board of Trustees as well as extraordinary campus and community resources such as the Sigmund and Claire Weis Center for the Performing Arts, a wide range of arts programming at the center, the Sigfried Weis Music Building, the Janet Weis Cabaret Jazz Series, and the Janet Weis Fellowship in Contemporary Letters. In addition to their passion for higher education and the arts, the Weis family has touched countless lives with their support for medicine and the health and wellness of children. The Janet Weis Children's Hospital at Geisinger Medical Center is one of the many examples of their commitment.

Janet Weis was a trustee emerita of Bucknell since 1996. She received Bucknell's most significant honor, the Stephen W. Taylor Medal for extraordinary service to the University, in 2003. In 2008, the University recognized her with the honorary degree, Doctor of Humane Letters.

Mrs. Weis is survived by her daughters, Susan, Nancy and Ellen, six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

A private service will be held with flowers provided by the family.

On behalf of the entire Bucknell community, I extend our deepest sympathies to the Weis family and our enduring appreciation to all that Mrs. Weis has meant to our University.

John