Kevin Weber
It was such a privilege, blessing and honor to have known your father. Art was such a good friend to me. I am deeply saddened by his passing and am sorry to not be there for the wake and funeral, but please know that I am praying for the Lord's hand on you all as you grieve.
For the past several years, I did not see him a lot, but when I did, he was the kind of friend who I could talk to for a short while and feel like we had never skipped a beat in our friendship.
I worked with him for, I think, around 7 years, and came to know him and respect him deeply. He was very good and very passionate about his work and very caring for the people with whom he worked. He was a father figure to many of us, always quick to lend a compassionate, attentive ear and offer fatherly advice. Even though he reported to me, I never felt like it was a supervisor/worker relationship. It was more of a friendship. He loved counting down the days to his retirement, but I remember telling him on his last day that I had dreaded that day long before it came to pass. Work was never the same after he retired.
He loved his life and it was so obvious that he deeply loved Nancy, Carol, Dave, Mike and his grandkids. You all were at the very top of his priority list in every way.
He was fun to be around. He had a lot of endearing quirks and phrases such as "I don't care about the labor pains, just get me the baby!" and "tell it to the judge!". There were so many more that I can't recall off the top of my head right now. He loved his flat cokes! And he and I shared a love for baseball even though he loved and cheered for the hated Yankees! 8-)
Art was there for me in one of the greatest trials of my life, sharing the burden with me. I will never forget his willingness to walk that road with me.
I am so glad to have had the opportunity to come down to Florida and visit him a couple of times. It was so much fun.
I will never forget, and will always very much treasure and appreciate the time and friendship I had with Art and the impact he had and still has on my life. I am going to miss him a lot.
Thank you for this opportunity to share.
Kevin Weber
