Llewellyn (Red) Weight

Skidaway Island
You may not know it, but last week the world lost a wonderful man, Llewellyn “Red” Blaisdell Weight. Ninety two years young but ready to be reunited with his bride of 67 years, he passed quietly Friday, March 30, 2012, in the peace of his home.
Born on November 27th, 1919 on the island of Maui he grew up living a life that many of us only read about in books. He rode donkeys, surfed using long boards, and watched Hawaii evolve from the world of sugar plantations into the 50th state. In fact, his mother was the last lady in waiting for Queen Liliuokalani.
Nicknamed Red at a young age due to his vibrant red hair which contrasted to his family’s dark features, he wanted nothing but to make something of his life. After graduating from Kamehameha School for Boys, he yearned to enter the Navy but unfortunately was never accepted due to a foot injury which never properly healed. This in turn saved him during that fateful day on December 7th, 1941 when many people he knew would lose their life in Pearl Harbor. Instead, at the age of 20 he came across the Pacific for the first time to enter electrical school in Washington, DC. He then started his career as an electrical engineer working on the ships during the war for Westinghouse Corporation.
It was during this time that he met his bride, Evelyn. She was the receptionist at a company on Mare Island near San Francisco when she greeted him with her warm smile and stunning looks. A few months later they said I Do in front of their closest friends and started a life together which would take them on many adventures.
His job as an electrical engineer meant that with every power plant he finished building; there was another one waiting in a new city. In a fifty year span, they moved more than twenty times from coast to coast. During the bulk of this career he worked for the Bechtel Corporation. His career started as a design engineer and ended as a project manager, overseeing the construction of nuclear and fossil power plants.
In his eyes, his role was to provide for his family and instill hard work in both of his children. Stern, but loving, he always knew what he expected of others and never settled for anything else. Over the years some of his characteristics never changed but he certainly mellowed. During retirement, his favorite pastime was playing golf with his friends in The Landings and enjoying Savannah’s sunshine. As a grandfather, we could have hoped for nothing more. His warm smile would always greet us anytime we visited. He believed in equality between boys and girls, therefore taking his granddaughter out on the golf course as his caddy just as often as he took his grandson. In fact, one hot summer he helped his granddaughter build a desk and bookshelves after she had grown jealous of all the woodworking he and his grandson had completed together.
There are many things we’ll remember about him but more than anything, we’ll remember that he, like our grandmother, was always there for his family.
Mr. Weight is survived by his two children, Lance E. Weight of Mt. Laurel, New Jersey and Deborah E. Rudolph of Savannah, Georgia. In addition he has four grandchildren, Meredith Weight Orlow, Eric Weight, Ryan Rudolph and Ashley Rudolph Diamond who will miss his warm smile and endearing sense of humor.
The family will receive friends from 6:00 – 8:00 PM, Wednesday evening, April 4th, 2012 at Bonaventure Funeral Home. Funeral services will be held in his memory at 11:00 AM, Thursday, April 5th at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 3 Westridge Road, Savannah, GA 31411 on Skidaway Island.
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Bonaventure Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements 335-8506