Richard W. Weismeyer, M.A., executive director of university relations for Loma Linda University Adventist Health Sciences Center (LLUAHSC), died Wednesday, January 12, 2011, after a long battle with cancer. For 46 years, he played a prominent role in the efforts to communicate the stories of this health-sciences community to the world, and served the organization in this and other capacities for more than 50 years--commencing in 1960 with his employment as a part-time worker at the Loma Linda Market.
Mr. Weismeyer was born in the old Loma Linda Sanitarium on October 15, 1943. He grew up in the Loma Linda area, graduated from Loma Linda Union Academy (now Loma Linda Academy), and earned his bachelor's degree from La Sierra College (now La Sierra University). After graduation from college and completion of an internship in the Public Information Office (forerunner of the office he led for so many years), Mr. Weismeyer was hired as a full-time employee at Loma Linda University in September 1966. He later returned to the campus of La Sierra University as a student, and in 2004, earned a master's degree in English. In the past few years, Mr. Weismeyer had been working on an Ed.D. degree in the School of Education at La Sierra University.
For more than 46 years, Mr. Weismeyer wrote, edited, and guided others as they chronicled countless stories of the everyday and the extraordinary in the LLUAHSC community. Mr. Weismeyer traveled to more than 50 countries, filing stories by telephone or mail in the early days from places as varied as Cameroon, China, Greece, Hong Kong, Ireland, Kenya, Nepal, The Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. Mr. Weismeyer?s trips were not always safe: in 1974 and 1975, he reported on the Loma Linda University Overseas Heart Surgery Team?s work in Saigon, Vietnam, after the pullout of U.S. troops; the team left eight weeks before the fall of the South Vietnamese government. In 2003, Mr. Weismeyer accompanied Dr. Richard Hart, then-chancellor of Loma Linda University, to war-torn Afghanistan, two years after the U.S.-led coalition drove the Taliban from power but when fighting still presented significant danger. In 2008, Mr. Weismeyer was an embedded reporter with the U.S. Army 307th Medical Division (Dental Services) in Iraq. And in 2010, he returned to Afghanistan amid intense fighting to follow up on the story of a war victim who had been a long-term patient at Loma Linda University Medical Center East Campus.
Through his work, Mr. Weismeyer met individuals from diverse walks of life--then-sitting U.S. president Richard Nixon, former U.S. president George H. W. Bush, then-California governor and future U.S. president Ronald Reagan, members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, foreign heads of state, individuals of wealth and influence--as well as everyday people whose stories, bound up with LLUAHSC, he helped tell.
In his personal life, Mr. Weismeyer sought to reflect the historic mission of Loma Linda University "to make man whole." On more than one occasion, he implemented or participated in service projects and tasks that demonstrated the Christian faith and commitment that permeated his life.
Mr. Weismeyer continued to guide his office into new and powerful methods of communicating the message of LLUAHSC. Embracing new technologies as they emerged, he remained instrumental in connecting Loma Linda University to the world.
Mr. Weismeyer won many awards, both for the communication work that he produced, and also for the man that he was. He was the recipient of the Iner Sheld-Ritchie Presidential Award from the Loma Linda University School of Medicine Alumni Association in 2008, the Distinguished University Service Award from Loma Linda University in 2009, and the LLUAHSC Spiritual Life and Wholeness Leadership Award in 2010. On Wednesday, January 12, the day he died, Mr. Weismeyer was named Citizen of the Year by the Loma Linda Chamber of Commerce.
Mr. Weismeyer is survived by his wife, Carol; son, Michael; and daughter, Marci; sister, Helen; and a host of friends.
Funeral services for Mr. Weismeyer are scheduled as follows: a graveside service, Friday, February 4, at 2:30 p.m., Montecito Memorial Park in Colton; and a memorial service, Sunday, February 6, at 10 a.m., Loma Linda University Church. The public is welcome to attend both services.
In lieu of flowers and other remembrances, and in response to an opportunity to honor the memory of Richard Weismeyer, many have chosen at this time to help fulfill one of his last wishes. He was particularly concerned that his daughter, Marci, has not been able to complete her college education--a dream that has been delayed as a result of health challenges and her inability to take enough units to qualify for student financial aid. His wish was that she be given this opportunity. Therefore, friends of Richard Weismeyer have established the Marci Weismeyer Educational Trust Fund at La Sierra University. Contributions (non tax deductible) can be made to this fund via mail to University Advancement, La Sierra University, 4500 Riverwalk Parkway, Riverside, CA 92515. Questions may be directed to Carol Bradfield, office: 951-785-2157; e-mail: cbradfield@lasierra.edu; fax: 951-785-2426.
An earlier version of this story misreported the date of Mr. Weismeyer's death. The story has been corrected.