Gazette Article by: Nan Greenough
Appeared in the Gazette: Fall/Winter 2012

Winnetka recently lost one of its true heroes. Everett P. “Tuck” Weaver died on September 17 at the age of 94.

People lucky enough to know Tuck speak of him with reverence. Tuck was the epitome of the “greatest generation:” a World War II hero, a successful businessman, a committed community volunteer, a generous benefactor.

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Modest in describing his own achievements, Tuck would light up when discussing his World War II service. He trained on an 1890 Navy battleship for 140 days, became an ensign and applied to submarine school. In a twist understood only by the military, this got him immediately shipped off to Seattle onto a freighter where he saw his first ocean and was delivered to Dutch Harbor, Alaska, where he saw his first submarine. As a newly minted officer, his first orders were, “Don’t touch anything!”

Tuck served on ten war patrols in the Pacific theater as an officer on the S-30, then the USS Barb, and finally the USS Maccabi. His service on the “Barb” was under the command of the legendary Eugene Fluckey, who became a lifelong friend and an inspirational figure in Tuck’s life. For his Navy service, Tuck was awarded two Letters of Commendation and a Bronze Star.

Following the war, Tuck returned to the American Colloid Co. where he eventually served for more than fifty years, including seventeen years as President, Chairman and CEO. Tuck helped to grow the company from a small regional minerals producer to a large international corporation. Upon retirement, Tuck devoted himself to community service at the Winnetka Community House, the North Shore Senior Center, and the Winnetka Historical Society, as well as serving as a Winnetka Village Trustee, all of which led to his being named Winnetka “Man of the Year.”

Tuck’s home in Winnetka now houses its third generation of Weavers. A large ceramic plaque of a human figure on the home’s façade was created by Winnetka artist Abbott Pattison, whose 7-foot bronze sculpture, “The Ascent of Mt. Katahdin” stands on the northwest corner of Oak and Green Bay Road, a gift to the Village by Tuck and his wife Rita, also an artist.

Tuck’s legacy includes the many individuals in whom he took a personal interest. Sensitive and supportive, he was a role model and active mentor for the next generation and…the generation after that.