Dr. Gregory R. Weiher
Gregory R. Weiher, Ph.D. died Sept. 29, 2019 in Houston, TX.
He was born Sept. 13, 1948, to the late Donald H. Weiher and Constance I. Weiher of Quincy, Ill. Greg and his wife were married in Quincy on Sept. 13, 1969. The couple very recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.
Greg attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale and then joined the Navy for a seven year tour; taking them to Monterey, CA, Taipei, Taiwan, and Naha, Okinawa.
Upon leaving the Navy, Greg attended the University of Missouri at Columbia, focusing on photo journalism. Then he and his family returned to Quincy to reside for only 2 years. At that time he attended Quincy University majoring in Political Science. Washington University in St. Louis, MO came next for the political science Ph.D. program.
With his doctorate completed, the family moved to Houston, TX where Greg’s academic position began at the University of Houston in political science.
In 1986, he won the William Anderson Award from the American Political Science Assoc. for best doctoral dissertation completed and accepted in the field of state and local politics, federalism, or intergovernmental relations. His dissertation was published and is titled The Fractured Metropolis.
At the age of 50 he learned to sail and had two sail boats. He wrote short stories about his adventures (some quite frightening) which were published in Sail, Boat Works, Telltales Yachting Texas Style, and Sailing, with “School of Hard Tacks.”
Survivors include wife, Connie J. Brown Weiher, daughter Rachael Collins (Michael Collins), son Dr. Jesse Weiher (Joie Weiher), grandsons Corbin Collins and Patrick Weiher. Brother-in-law David Brown, sisters-in-law Jesse Frances Brown Hand, Margaret Brown Brunier (Elliott Brunier), and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.
Service to be held 10 am at Duker and Haugh on Friday, Oct. 4, 2019. Private burial in Kinderhook, IL on Sat. Oct. 5, 2019. No flowers please. In lieu of flowers we encourage you to please choose a charity of your liking from the Texas SECC website and donate in honor, or memory of Dr. Greg Weiher. Also, donations can be made to the American Brain Tumor Association.
Gregory was such a nice and caring person. He was a great professor. I was truly inspired by his humility. He will be missed. My condolences to his family and to all who miss him.
You are all in my prayers. I know Rachael’s dad was a larger than life man. My heart goes out to everyone who is missing him!
I am deeply saddened by the loss that you and your family have encountered. My condolences.
I first met Greg in his policy analysis class in 2005. He was an excellent teacher and had a great sense of humor – when we discussed freedom from regulations and the libertarian perspective, he would say things like “everyone has the right to sit in his living room in his underwear, eat Cheetos, and watch something dumb” if he wants to. Of course, he said it much funnier than I just did, but it always drew a laugh from the class. We were both veterans, he Navy and me Army, and that enabled us to communicate in a way that only veterans can – I always appreciated that. He and I both obtained our colleges degrees, not because of anticipated earnings or credentials for our careers, but because they were a challenge – we both wanted to prove that we could. He loved UH football – well, any type of football – and we visited at many UH football games and frequently talked football in the POLS coffee room. In 2010, Nancy and I spent 10 days in Turkey with him and Connie and had a most remarkable time. I remember him saying again and again, “I can’t wait to get home so that I can order the biggest Whataburger and munch down on it.” I have a photo of him and I standing together in a hot air balloon in Cappadocia, Turkey, and when we landed the wind caught the balloon and blew us over toward some rocks; we got a good laugh, but it could have been bad for Greg because his head almost hit a rock. Greg was a special person in my life, because basically he was a nice guy who could relate to the people around him, and he never thought of himself as being better. He is missed, but he is in a better place now and has a better seat for UH football games. RIP Greg.
Greg’s death leaves many of us brokenhearted. Steven and I will miss you so much. Peace and love are extended to all of your family. Connie, Jesse, Rachael, we are thinking of you, and our hearts are heavy with grief.
As one of his student at UH, my condolences to his family. We lost one of the great teachers and scholars at UH political science.
My prayers and best wishes go out to Greg’s family with his passing.
I first met Greg in 2004 from my time in the University of Houston’s Master of Public Administration program. When I returned to work at UH a few years later, I used to stop by his office often to discuss UH athletics and current events.
Greg was a great professor, and made a lasting and positive impact on the thousands of students that he taught and interacted with over the years.
My condolences again to Greg’s family, and he will be missed by all that knew him.
Our hearts and prayers go out to Greg’s family at this time of grief. He was an amazing person and great friend, and will be missed.