Eleanor Weidman

Eleanor Ruth Weidman died on July 1, 2020 in Kalispell, Montana at age 96. She was born on a farm in southern Iowa to Leland and Lois Young.  During her childhood years in the Great Depression, Eleanor and her younger brother and sister enjoyed life on the several dairy farms managed by her father. When she was twelve, her family moved to southern California, where Eleanor enjoyed life near the Mojave Desert. She enlisted in the Navy on her 20th birthday during World War II.  As a WAVE, she was stationed at Washington, D.C and Pearl Harbor, and was discharged at the end of the war with the rank of Storekeeper First Class.

Eleanor completed her college studies thanks to the GI Bill and earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California at Berkeley and her Master of Science Degree in Home Management from Iowa State University. She returned to California and worked for the University of California as a research assistant in Consumer Economics.  There she met and married Robert Weidman. The couple moved to Missoula in 1953, where Bob taught Geology at the University of Montana.

An active homemaker, Eleanor raised her four daughters to share her and Bob’s love of music, fine arts, and outdoor activities. Throughout her daughters’ formative years, she spent much of her time and talents as home room mother, library mother, Camp Fire Girl and Bluebird leader, and chauffeur for endless music and recreational activities. Eleanor was active in many women’s groups and also volunteered at the Missoula Historical Museum, delivered Meals on Wheels, and served as an election judge.

Eleanor enjoyed hiking, skiing, bicycling, bird watching, flower identification, photography, history, cooking and travel.  She was a founding member of the Missoula Tuesday and Wednesday Outdoor Women’s hiking groups and continued to hike and cross country ski through her mid-eighties.  After Bob’s retirement, they traveled to many places abroad as a couple and with the Missoula Friendship Force.

Eleanor will be missed by her daughters and their husbands, including Carolyn and Ron,  Nancy and Paul, Lois and Dean, and Vicki and Mike.  She is also survived by two grandsons, three granddaughters, and one great-granddaughter. She is predeceased by her two siblings and her husband. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be sent in her memory to the Five Valleys Land Trust (Missoula), the Montana Nature Conservancy, or the Montana Audubon Society.

At Eleanor’s request, there will be a private, family memorial service.