Stewart Weitzman

Stewart was born April 25, 1935 in Chicago, Illinois, and after a life well lived, passed away December 29, 2021 in Bend, at the age of 86.

Stewart was raised in Southern California by his parents, Louis and Fanny Weitzman. This is where his lifelong love of education, hard work, and cars started. In 1953 he was accepted to Stanford University and graduated with a degree in political science in 1957. At Stanford, he was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. After college, he served in the Marine Corps for two years, being honorably discharged as a First Lieutenant (later promoted to Captain in the

reserves).

He met Verle Pilling through mutual friends in San Francisco in 1959 and their 62-year romance began at that time. They were married on January 23, 1960 in Palo Alto, California. They later moved to Portland, where they raised their two sons, Marcus and Todd.

Stewart worked in several sales-related jobs in the early 1960s, primarily in the pharmaceutical industry, before starting to pursue his MBA at Portland State in 1967. While in the MBA program, his entrepreneurial spirit was born as he started his first company, Pacemaker Corporation, a manufacturer of preventive dental products including fluoride gels. Pacemaker grew rapidly, and after developing several products that earned U.S. patents, the company was sold in 1978.

After consulting and working for several startups, he founded Weitech in Sisters, in 1989. Weitech was a manufacturer of electronic pest control products. At this time, he and Verle moved full-time to Black Butte Ranch. Stewart served as the chairman of the BBR homeowners’ board and as the president of the Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce. Weitech experienced rapid growth, and his son Todd soon joined the company. Weitech was sold in 2002 and Stewart

retired.

Stewart and Verle enjoyed soaking up the sunshine in Indian Wells, California, during the winters. Stewart also enjoyed reading, classical music, travel, politics, car magazines, golfing, tennis, playing Shanghai, and was always scanning the classifieds for a new business opportunity. He was a decisive leader, a very generous man, and those who knew him appreciated his witty sense of humor. After 24 years living at Black Butte Ranch, he and Verle moved to Touchmark in Bend, where they have happily lived for the past nine years.

Stewart had struggled with Parkinson’s Disease for the past several years, but ultimately succumbed to colon cancer. Preceded in death by his parents Louis Weitzman and Fanny Weitzman, and his brother Morrel Weitzman. Survived by his wife of 61 years, Verle; brother Ronald (Morley) of Carmel, California; son Marcus (Chelley) of Mesa, Arizona; son Todd (Diane) of Sisters; and five grandchildren, Joshua, Christopher, Sarah (Matt), Abigail (Jared), and Becky (James).

A celebration of life will be held in late spring. Memorial contributions can be made to Partners in Care/Hospice House at 2075 NE Wyatt Ct., Bend, OR 97701 or Parkinson’s Resources of Oregon at 8880 SW Nimbus Ave., Suite B, Beaverton, OR 97008.