Remembering Art Weiss, Jr.

By Dennis Mollura

There are a lot of fond memories of Art Weiss, Jr., our friend and classmate who passed away April 11 following complications from surgery at a hospital near his home in Shepherd, MT.

He was one of those unforgettable classmates who impressed and sometimes intimidated us with his knowledge and intellect, especially his capacity for reasoning, problem-solving and comprehension of the physical sciences and mathematics. 

At the end of each school year, you always knew he was going to be at or near the top of the class, along with Jutta Hagar, Suzy Weisshaus, and Gerry Koval. You also knew he was going to be a rocket scientist, nuclear engineer, or achieve some other high-level scientific position.  He earned his degree in nuclear and petroleum engineering at Penn State and became a nuclear engineer in the electric power industry. Unfortunately, career opportunities for nuclear engineers were severely curtailed following the near meltdown of the Three-Mile Island nuclear plant near Harrisburg in 1979.

Physically, he was fairly tall and thin with an unforgettable face and big smile.  Each day you would see him in the hallways gliding toward his next class, often with his shirttail out, carrying what seemed to be an unusually heavy burden of books.  I imagine this is what it must have been like to go to school with Albert Einstein.

But Arthur, Jr. (most of us knew him as A.J.) was more than academics.  A lot more.  He was friendly, somewhat outgoing, and an engaging conversationalist who loved to tell a good story.  Apart from the scientific field, he displayed a fondness for the Hispanic language and often would toss out a sentence or phrase in Spanish, usually followed by a hearty laugh.  As a two-year Latin student, I never could decipher exactly what he was saying but usually could piece it together -  after a brief but uncomfortable delay.  I imagine he thought I was pretty dense.

His interest outside the classroom was wrestling.  No surprise there, since his father was Arthur J. Weiss, Sr.,  Clearfield's long-time, hall-of-fame wrestling coach whose records still stand over much of the sport more than 50 years after his retirement.  In his career, young A.J. compiled a respectable high school record and provided many a thrill for the school's legions of wresting fans.

Some people are believed to be "double-jointed."  If that is possible, A.J. could be considered "360-degree-jointed."  He could bend and contort his arms, legs and torso in virtually any direction, which worked both for and against him."  If he could do it to his advantage, others could do it to his disadvantage.  He probably was as close as one could get to being the human "Gumby."

A.J. went on to wrestle varsity at Penn State, where he earned the Kaye Vinson Award in 1963 as the team's Most Improved Wrestler.  I accompanied his father to the awards banquet that night, and I tell you, it was a proud moment for all of us.

His obituary in the Billings (MT) Gazette said his expertise in nuclear engineering brought him notoriety among conservative talk show hosts, adding that he also was very fond of his cats; enjoyed science fiction; and was also known locally by the great rock wall he built stone-by-stone in his backyard without mortar.

Many of us visited with A.J.  in 2009 at Sam Lansberry's Friday night get-together and at our 50th-year Reunion and Dinner the next day.  There, he was his old, friendly, talkative, laughing self, still telling stories, and still following up with a hearty laugh.  Little did we know, it would be our last moments with him.

We will miss you, A.J.  Rest in Peace.